The Gazette 1980

GAZETTE

APRIL 1980

Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association

Registry of Deeds The Association has been engaged in correspondence with the Registry of Deeds with a view to reducing delays in the comparison and registration of Deeds. The Assistant Registrar has explained that delays in comparison were due to the combination of a number of factors, including above — average levels of lodgements following the postal strike. £xtra staff have been assigned to the office and already considerable progress has been made in reducing the arrears, resulting in a noticeable improvement from behind the Solicitor's desk. The Assistant Registrar took the opportunity of pointing out that a proportion of the delay was inevitably caused by material appearing to be defective at comparison stage and having to be returned to the Solicitors concerned. The most frequent defects are: (i) failure to complete the Memorial by the accurate inclusion of the execution and witnessing of the Deed; (ii) incomplete description of the premises; (iii) defects in the Affidavit or Jurat. In future, in order to minimise delay, the staff of the Comparison office have been instructed to make a brief examination of all Memorials, to check for the more usual shortcomings. Only if a Memorial passes this examination, will comparison proceed. It was pointed out to the Assistant Registrar that his Staff had introduced, without warning or apparent authority, a practice rule that the particulars of execution and witnessing included in Memorials should be typewritten, instead of being inserted in handwriting. For clarity, we set out the following practical guide lines, observance of which will greatly facilitate the Registry staffs:— 1. The body of the Memorial, as well as the partilulars of execution and witnessing, should be typewritten, for maximum legibility. 2. The Deed and its Memorial should have a properly detailed description of the premises. 3. Ensure that the Deed and its Memorial are properly witnessed and that the Affidavit of the attesting witness and the Jurat to that Affidavit are both properly completed and dated. As a further practical aid to the completion of Memorials, we would remind Solicitors acting for Purchasers to obtain on closing detailed particulars of the witnesses to the Vendor's execution of the purchase Deed and Memorial. The Association has also been discussing with the Registry of Deeds the possibility of procuring Searches by post. This proposal was made by the Assiatant Registrar, who invited the Association to consider it and to let him know its views. The Conveyancing Committee of the Association was unanimously in favour of the suggestion and is so informing the Registrar. The broad basis of the arrangement would be that the Requisition for Search would be lodged by post, together with a standard fee. When the Search was ready, it would

be certified by the Registry and returned by post to the Solicitors. When the sale had been completed and the closing act registered, the Purchaser's Solicitors would relodge the Search, with a standard fee, so that it could be continued and closed as heretofore. It would then be returned to the Solicitor by post. This system would link satisfactorily with a further proposal that Registry of Deeds fees should, so far as possible, be standardised. Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council Mortgages The Association, after lengthy discussion and consideration, has procured the agreement of the Dublin Corporation and of the Dublin Councy Council to the execution of Releases of Mortgage in advance of actual repayment. The practice should obviate the extensive delays, which have become standard, in procuring executed Releases after the Mortgage debt has been repaid. For either the Dublin Corporation or the Dublin County Council to arrange the sealing of a Release of Mortgage in advance of repayment, the following must be observed:— 1. There must be a specific written request from the Borrower or his Solicitor to seal the Release in advance of repayment, together with an assurance that the repayment moneys are or soon will be made available. 2. The Borrower and his Solicitor must confirm in writing that if repayment is not made within three months of the sealing of the Release, the Release may be cancelled and destroyed by the Local Authority. 3. The sealed Release must remain in the custody of the Local Authority until repayment is made. Company Formation Considerable difficulty has been experienced by the profession in recent years in procuring the approval of the companies Office to the proposed names of intended new Companies. The practice has become general of submitting for approval several alternative proposed names, in the hope that one of them may be acceptable. Notwithstanding the submission of alternatives, problems are still arising with what is, apparently, even greater frequency. While the Association appreciates the necessity to ensure, as far as is reasonably possible, that Companies are so named as to avoid possible confusion between them, it is felt that the present system must be capable of modification in order to assist the practitioner in what now is, in many cases, a real difficulty. The Association is pressing the Registrar of Companies to assist the profession by indicating with greater precision why his staff have refused any particular name or names and to indicate in any such circumstances, what combination of the relevant or "key" words in any proposed name would be acceptable.

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