The Gazette 1980

JUNE 1980

GAZETTE

that is in force ( lex lata ) and the law which it is desired to establish ( lex ferenda) is not always clearly drawn. Prof. Schwarzenberger has been criticised for what has been described as an unduly conservative and restrictive approach to the development of new rules of international law. Such criticism is based on a misapprehension. He and Prof. Brown are not opposed to the emergence of new rules in any sphere, and discuss the pros and cons of new developments where appropriate, e.g. the new emerging law of the sea (Chapter 5) and the de jure and de facto revision of the Charter of the U.N. (Chapter 10). Incidentally, as regards the law of the sea and the Rockall issue, Irish readers will note with interest the "illus- trative" official U.K. Naval Chart on the Maritime Frontiers of the U.K. which is reproduced on page 102. Where the authors differ from others is their repeated insistence on the necessity for evidence that a new rule has been established, and their reminders that a clear distinction exists between the problem of the "the technical improvement of international law as a legal system to make it commensurate with the needs of contemporary world society" and the problem of "an international order on which international law may safely rest" (p. 312). Proposals for sweeping reforms in the international legal system, however desirable in principle, are likely to remain Utopian if unrelated to the type of international order on which they must rest. Users of this Manual will obtain a general introduction to the theory of international law, a necessarily brief state- ment of the established rules, a remarkably wide and comprehensive reference book for further investiga- tions into a chosen topic and a thought provoking discussion of many of the problems of a world dominated by the Super Powers. J. F. O'Connor The Irish Constitution by J. M. Kelly. Jurist Publishing Co. Ltd., University College Belfield, Dublin 4 1980 xxxii, 605 pp. £22.80 (paperback), £28.30 (hard- back) including V.A.T. and postage. If the Irish lawyer has not been overwhelmed by the quantity of books on Irish law in recent years, he can have no complaint about the quality. To John Wylie's classic books on land law we can now add this major w ork from John Kelly on the Irish constitution. Professor Kelly has done for his sibject what Professor Wylie did for his. He has provided us with a systematic treatment in Print of the sources of constitutional law in this state and he has equally for the first time given an exposition of the vast range of principles and rulings developed in constitutional litigation and practice over the years. That it takes 600 pages to achieve this, and the citation over 500 cases is a measure not only of the author's achievement but the size of the gap this book now fills. It ,s a serious rebuke to us all as lawyers, whether academic, or practising, that we have had to wait this long for the hrst comprehensive commentary on our basic law. Before

this, the constitutional jurisprudence of the state, a subject that affects all citizens and invades every area of legal practice, was scattered through the decision of the courts reported and unreported or available only in the heads of practitioners. But our low productivity as writers about law is a theme for another day. With the appearance of John Kelly's book we can celebrate another field covered and expect confidently that it will prove an equal success to the Wylie volumes. It certainly deserves to do so. This book takes the form of annotations on each article of Bunreacht na hEireann and since that document follows so closely the provisions of the 1922 Constitution the work embraces all that remains important about that constitution as well. It is not, no more than Wylie, a book to be read at one sitting. But for the practitioner it will prove invaluable as a reference book and because of its organisation, easy to use as such. For those with time for curiousity, much will be learned by browsing (for the author the following: the name of the State is not the Republic of Ireland, that is its description, the name is Éire, or in the English language, Ireland, — Art. 4). For the student the book will be indispensable, and remembering that the Constitution has a lot to say about the Oireachtas and its procedures we may yet see Kelly being read into Hansard as assuredly we will see it cited in the Four Courts. Aside from the fact of judicial review of legislation it has been in the specifications of fundamental rights that the Irish constitution has differed most from the British constitutional model, which in other respects it mirrors quite closely. At least half of this book is given over to the analysis of the case law on Article 40-44 concerning fundamental rights more especially since Ryan v. Attorney General (1965) I.R. The practitioner and the general public will find in the book, set out in crystal clear style, the impact of the enormous number of 'state-side' applications since that decision, cases he may otherwise only recall as a stream of headlines in the newspapers. These cases have resulted in some fields in the rewriting of areas of common law for example criminal procedure, and Professor Kelly's book is the only place where the current law is to be found. With one reservation, the book is easy to read and well constructed. The text of the constitution is set out article by article in bold type, each article followed by the detailed commentary. The commentary is helpfully broken up by marginal notes that aid the reader to find the exact point he may be searching for. The reservation concerns the failure to use quotation marks for the very frequent citations from decisions. These are set in on the page, so that they can be distinguished from the author's commentary, but it is easy to confuse citation and comment, and quotation marks would have helped. The organisation of the statute index is crude; U.K. and Northern Ireland Acts being distinguished by prefixes. There are conventions established for citations and they should have been followed. But these are minor matters. Professor Kelly's enormous industry and scholarship in preparing this book deserves our acclaim and buying it is one way of demonstrating that. K. Boyle. 109