The Gazette 1980

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1980

GAZETTE

Book Reviews Williams and Muir Hunter on Bankruptcy. 19th edition. Sweet & Maxwell, 1979. £45.00. By and large, books on the laws of bankruptcy are not going to present any major challenge to Frederick Forsyth and others in vying for the top notch in the best sellers lists. However, for many reasons, this book deserves the attention of Irish practitioners. Yes, there are many textbooks on English law which do not relate to Ireland — not so in this case. The fundamentals of Irish bankruptcy law are set out in the Acts of 1857 and 1872. Although the English laws are a little more up-to-date — their main Act came into force in 1914 — the principles applying to both sets of laws are very similar. There has been some recent bankruptcy legislation in the U.K., the Insolvency Act, 1976, but, primarily, this Act merely brought some old money limits up-to-date and did not change fundamentals. As a result of these similarities, this book is a welcome addition to the limited number of modern books on this subject. The book is very well set out, going through the sections of each relevant Act and commenting on immediately after quotation. A particular bonus is the fact that there is an independent index to any important commentary which runs for more than a few pages. As one might expect, there are constant references to cases and, more importantly from an Irish viewpoint, the majority of the cases were decided in the nineteenth century. There are, of course, numerous recent cases mentioned. How could any legal textbook get by without a reference to our old friend Romalpal Obviously, this case is as important to the legal difficulties arising in personal insolvency as it is to those cropping up in corporate insolvencies. These problems are dealt with very adequately in the book. It is a sign of the times that the 1976 Act in the U.K. is called the "Insolvency Act". For the first time, the same piece of legislation has enacted provisions relating to the personal and corporate insolvencies. The draftsmen obviously were looking over their shoulders at the activities of the numerous committees set up in each E.E.C. Member Country to investigate the possibility of ultimately harmonising the bankruptcy laws of the E.E.C. These very discussions probably have dis- couraged some authors from undertaking the task of compiling comprehensive works on bankruptcy law, and, therefore, we must be all the more thankful that this new edition of a leading textbook on the subject has come our way. The editors have resisted the temptation to get drawn into the area of international bankruptcy, but, there are quite a number of references to Ireland, including refer- ences to the thorny problem of "Orders in Aid" being granted by the Courts in a foreign jurisdiction. This book has been known as Williams on Bankruptcy. The publishers have now decided to

recognise Muir Hunter's considerable contribution to this area of the law by including his name in the title. He has been involved in editing the book for over thirty years and well deserves the compliment paid to him. This is an essential book for practitioners involved in cases dealing with insolvency law and could be referred to usefully by those who encounter the odd client with such an unfortunate problem. One small point I found the tone of the text to be slightly rigid. Some may consider this to be a decided advantage. Others may point out that the subject of the book does not leave too much scope for humour! Barry O'Neill Correspondence Valuation Office, 6, Ely Place, Dublin 2. 20 November 1979 re: COMPLAINTS FROM BAR ASSOCIATIONS ABOUT DELAYS IN ADJUDICATIONS Dear Mr. Ivers, I refer to your letter dated 1st November 1979. At present there are a total of 2,941 adjudications awaiting completion in the Valuation Office. This number includes 578 cases where objections have been lodged. In addition, there are other capital taxation cases on hands. The authorised professional staff of the Valuation Office is 50 valuers and 25 district valuers. In the past two years there have been four early retirements, one death in service and numerous resignations by experi- enced staff (including three senior district valuers) to take up employment in the private sector. The serving staff now totals only 54 valuers and district valuers and a current competition will not ease the situation until the recruits are appointed and trained. Effective training takes at least two years. The annual revision of valuations will be completed and issued on 1st December 1979. Rating valuers, as they come free, are being diverted from their normal duties to market value work wherever possible for as long as possible before the onset of the 1980 rating programme. Because of this I am advised that there should be a very considerable reduction in the number of cases in hands but this may be offset to a certain extent by the intake of new adjudication cases and other capital tax cases. However, the unprecedented number of resignations, etc., and the inducements which the private sector can offer have created problems but I hope that the adjudi- cation situation will be stabilised for a period, early in the new year, but without enough staff I cannot say the problem may not recur. Yours sincerely, D. J. Ryan (Commissioner of Valuation)

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