The Gazette 1979

SEPTEMBER 1979

GAZETTE

Annual General Meeting of Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association

At the annual general meeting of the Association, held at Blackhall Place on 22 October 1979, the following officers and council were elected for the year 1979/80: President, Mrs. Moya Quinlan; Vice-President, Andrew F. Smyth; Hon. Secretary, Herbert Mulligan; Hon. Treasurer, Miss Clare Cusack. Council members: Michael Farrell, Miss Elma Lynch, Stephen Maher, Vivian Mathews, Charles R. M. Meredith, Rory O'Donnell, T. Finbar O'Reilly, Colm Price, Lawrence K. Shields. "Any Other Business" By what may now fairly be described as "tradition", "Any Other Business" is called while the honorary scrutineers count the votes cast for the prospective council members for the ensuing year. And, by the same "tradition", "Any Other Business" has become over the years a forum for the dissemination of views and ideas which, perhaps, might not otherwise be heard. The recent annual general meeting proved no excep- tion, and the meeting heard an eloquent argument by Mr. Desmond Moran as to the difficulty of securing a criminal conviction in the fact of the "beyond a reasonable doubt" rule, coupled with a plea that an appropriate sub- committee of the association might consider the matter further, with a view to making submissions to the Minister for Justice that the burden of proof be modified. Mr. Frank O'Donnell argued, equally eloquently, against taking any step which made it more difficult for an accused person to obtain justice. The general feeling of the meeting appeared to be that it was unlikely that, for whatever reason, the Minister for Justice would consider any change in the law. Mr. John F. Buckley, immediate past-president, drew the attention of the meeting to the proposals published recently by the Government as to the Civil Legal Aid Scheme, which is apparently to be based on Advice and Assistance Centres, located throughout the country, and serviced by permanent civil service staff. Mr. Buckley is greatly concerned at the lack of argument voiced by the profession against the many obvious weaknesses of the scheme, which he described as "retrograde". Mr. Buckley pointed out that the Civil Legal Aid Scheme seemed to be re-introducing the analogous concept of the old local medical dispensary at a time when the Department of Health was doing its best to abandon the dispensary system and to arrange that every citizen could, within reason, have freedom of choice of doctor. If the Civil Legal Aid Scheme is established in its present form, the public will have to rely upon whatever employed staff serves any particular area, with obvious problems, for example, in matrimonial cases, when one legal officer might well find himself having to represent both husband and wife. There was considerable discussion as to whether the profession and the Association would voice publicly its concern and, despite views to the contrary, the general feeling seemed to be that the time had come for a state- ment to be issued. The council of the association will con-

sider the matter further at its next meeting. Mr. Andrew F. Smyth raised the important and difficult question of investigations going behind Land Registry Folios, with particular reference to that perennial producer of problems — the Family Home Protection Act 1976. Mr. Rory O'Donnell told the meeting that the Conveyancing Sub-Committee of the Association had spent a considerable part of the previous year inves- tigating the matter, including taking counsel's opinion, and said that, while there was still some lack of con- sensus, the better view (at least it was hoped that it was the better view!) was that it was most unwise to search behind Folios. Mr. Desmond Moran introduced yet another radical topic by suggesting that the level of fines coming within the broad scope of the Summary Jurisdiction legislation should be increased, the present minimal level of fine having long been outpaced by inflation. The Council of the Association wishes to thank the Incorporated Law Society for its kindness in making available to the Association the Council Chamber at Blackhall Place for the Association's various meetings. In particular, the Council thanks the Director General of the Law Society, Mr. James Ivers, for his kindness in attending many council meetings during the year and in attending the recent annual general meeting, to which he contributed an invaluable progress report on the history to date of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme and the various representations which had already been made upon it. Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association Joint Symposium with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Republic of Ireland Branch) Under the title "When is a Contract. . .", members of the Institution of Chartered Surveyors and of the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association met in T.C.D. on Thursday, 1st November, 1979, to hear a paper read by John F. Buckley, solicitor, on the various recent decisions on this subject. Mr. Buckley's paper, together with the essence of sub- sequent questions from the floor and his replies thereto, will be presented as an article in a forthcoming issue of the Law Society's Gazette. The symposium was considered by all concerned to have been of immense value and the Association is very grateful to the Institution of Chartered Surveyors for its prominent part in making the symposium possible. R. W. RADLEY M.Sc., C.Chem., M.R.I.C. HANDWRITING AND DOCUMENT EXAMINER 220, Elgar Road, Reading, Berkshire, England. Telephone (0734) 81977

188