The Gazette 1980

GAZETTE

JULY-AUGUST

19

BOOK REVIEWS Common Market Law of Competition, 2nd edition, by C. W. Bellemy and Graham D. Child (1978) Sweet and Maxwell. This is the second edition of a work first published in 1973. In its preface the authors state that between the publication of the first and second editions, the volume of Community Competition Law has approximately doubled without any concommitant decrease in the number of undecided questions. This is not an exaggeration. The expansion has been well dealt with by the authors who have kept the increase in the text to a minimum while significantly increasing the authorities cited in the footnotes. The book contains a general introduction to E.E.C. Competition Law and then deals in more detail with certain topics. These are well divided in relation to problems as they arise in practice. This book is, I think a useful source for practitioners who, whilst familiar with the general principles involved, need on occasion to remind themeslves of the specific principles and decisions on a particular problem in hand. It has the advantage for Irish Lawyers of having been written by Common Lawyers and is in a form of text book familiar to us. It is concise, and well supported by references to Decisions of the Commission and Judgements of the Court of Justice which are well referenced. When the first edition was published there was no English edition of the European Court reports available and the Authors gave the Official Journal references for all decisions. Now that an English edition of the European Courts.is available the Authors in this edition have retained the Official Journal references but also give the references to the English edition of the European Court Reports. These were not available at the time of publication of the first edition. The work contains in appendices the principal European texts relating to Competition Law. This is convenient. The principal drawback to the book is that the law contained therein is stated as at 20th September 1977. In most areas of importance to practitioners included in the book there have been important developments in terms of Decisions of the Commission and Judgements of the Court since that date. Thus the work can now only be relied upon by practitioners as a starting point and must be supplemented by the almost impossible task of trying to find the latest Commission Decision or Judgment of the Court on a particular point. In fairness to the Court the last volume of the official reports for each year includes an index by subject matter, but these reports are almost one year in arrears. Mary Finlay. R. W. RADLEY M.Sc., C.Chem., M.R.l.C. HANDWRITING AND DOCUMENT EXAMINER 220, Elgar Road, Reading, Berkshire, England. Telephone (0734) 81977

A Manual of International Law by Georg Schwarzen- berger & E. D. Brown. Sixth Edition. Professional Books Limited, 1976. lix, 612 pp. Ireland, as a member of the E.E.C. and an active participant in the affairs of the United Nations and many other international organisations, is becoming increas- ingly involved in the system of law which governs the relations between states and between international institu- tions, states and individuals. Furthermore, international law has developed considerably in recent years to embrace individuals, and it is becoming increasingly common for solicitors to be confronted with problems involving the relationship between international and national law. In recent years, this relationship has attracted wide notice in areas such as fishing, human rights and extradition, but there are others which have not attracted such publicity. International law is no longer the exclusive concern of a few officials in Government Departments. It is actually or potentially important for all lawyers. For that reason, the sixth edition of the Manual on International Law by Professors Schwarzenberger and Brown should be particularly welcomed by Irish practi- tioners. For many years, Georg Schwarzenberger has been regarded as one of the world's leading experts in the subject. His rigorous, inductive approach to international law, together with his sometimes abrasive but always stimulating methods of teaching, have inspired several generations of students at the University of London and elsewhere. The latest edition of the Manual continues to display all the stimulating qualities and the careful scholarship which have always characterised his teaching and writing. These virtues are supplemented by the contributions of Prof. Brown, and the combined efforts of the authors and Professional Books, the new publishers for this edition, have resulted in an up-to-date, highly systematic and comprehensive introduction to the subject. The Manual has always aimed at providing a sound theoretical foundation for the beginner, and, as the Preface states, once the foundations are laid, the reader should be enabled to deepen and widen his knowledge in accordance with his own predilections. This edition succeeds admirably in achieving these aims. The material included ranges from the helpful glossary of basic terms and maxims (Part Four) to extensive tables of Cases, Treaties and Bibliographies. The revised Study Outlines in Part Two, which occupy over 200 pages of the work, continues to be one of the most valuable and attractive features of the Manual. The inductive approach, while it cannot exclude all traces of subjectivity, may justly claim to diminish it considerably. The Manual presents the fundamental principles and rules of international law as they have been established and applied in State practice, national courts and international tribunals. It distinguishes between the exclusive law creating processes (Treaties, International Customary Law and the General Principles of Law) and the law determining agencies (National and International Courts, Diplomatic Practice and Doctrinal Writing). The reader of this work will be left in no doubt about what the rules of international law are, unlike the reader of some other textbooks, where the dividing line between the law

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