The Gazette 1981

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1981

possibility of claims by a child or children of a deceased partner, under Sec. 1 17 of the Succession Act 1965. that the parent had failed to make proper provision for such child or children. Nothing is offered beyond a note on page 95 as to a partner's responsibility, when making a will to make "adequate provision" for the spouse and children. The precedent Eight Schedule to the Agreement is particularly complex. Apart from the fact that it is not clear that the "joint ownership" and the "tenancy in common" referred to as at the commencement of Sub Clause (A) of Clause (I) must refer to a common ownership with some person other than a party to the Partnership Agreement, Sub-Clause (B) of Clause (I) must be worthy of a place in the Guinness Book of Records on the strength of sheer complexity! Practitioners are implored to make sure that they understand this Clause fully before adopting it in any case. The provision for the gradually increasing share of the "junior" partner is contained in an elaborate Appendix A. set out in tabular form. This is ingenious but, again, calls for careful consideration in the context of gift and inheritance taxes. In the Appendix, as drafted, no proprietory interest passes to the "junior" partner until the "senior" of them has attained 55 years of age. This is to avail of the relief offered by Section 27 of the Capital Gains Tax Act 1975. For the purpose of gift and inheritance taxes, hopefully, the "junior" partner would have earned by his labours his ever-increasing stake in the partnership assets, but a paragraph on the author's reasoning on this matter would be a useful addition to the text. In view of the sheer hard work that has gone into the production of this book, it seems almost trivial to mention that the general layout and choice of type-face leaves a certain amount to be desired; this is something which will no doubt be tidied up in later editions. At IR£2.00, "Farm Family Partnerships" should be on the shelves of every practitioner. The idea alone is worth every penny of IR£2.00, which means one gets the book for nothing! What is more, the book should not remain on the shelf; use it, and pass on the benefit of your experience — your trials and your tribulations — to the publishers. On such experience will subsequent editions be based. Charles R. M. Meredith. Youth and Justice — Young Offenders in Ireland, edited by Helen Burke, Claire Carney and Geoffrey Cook, published by Turoe Press, 1981. Paperback. £7.25. Having grown out of the controversy surrounding the government's decision to set up a closed detention centre for boys in Loughran House, Co. Cavan, this book covers much more ground than its origins might imply. Far from dealing exclusively with the pros, and cons, of high security residential care for young offenders, this wide ranging work treats the subject in its social context, which entails tracing the present system for the treatment of young offenders through its historical development; comparing and contrasting our system with those of neighbouring jurisdictions; looking at the various stages a juvenile offender may go through under the present system; and, perhaps most importantly, seeking to analyse the nature and extent of juvenile crime, both in

terms of the backgrounds and formative influences of young offenders, and in relation to assessing the most effective methods of tackling the problem. Central themes in the book are: the necessity of achieving a balance between the requirements of society and the interests of the young people who ofTcnd against its rules, and the prime importance of moving from an 'offence' to a 'needs' orientation with regard to young offenders. Indeed, the authors go further, and suggest that if "need" is to be the relevant criterion, then those charged with responsibility in this area should not wait for an offence to be committed before intervening in a situation where a young person is 'at risk'. Emphasis is placed on the desirability of rrhabiliG.iing young people in their own environment. Recommendations are also made with regard to residential care where this is necessary. Existing structures and practices are critically analysed, but all due credit is given to what enlightened developments there have been, in areas such as the Juvenile Liaison Scheme operated by the Gardai, Youth Encounter Projects and the intensive supervision scheme of the Department of Justice's Probation and Welfare Service. Expansion of these projects is urged, as is greater use of them by the courts. Clearly, socio-economic factors arc seen as fundamental to the solution of the problems of young offenders (and others), but the authors stress that much improvement is possible even within the existing framework. They do however strongly recommend some administrative change; the present situation in which several government departments have overlapping areas of responsibility should be altered, and a reconstituted Department of Health and Social Services have overall control; under its auspices, regional Health and Social Services Boards should have responsibility for the development of community-based projects designed to help the greatest possible number of young people in their own environment. These Boards would also be responsible for the welfare of those who needed residential care. An informal panel system is suggested to replace the present court structure; it would have cases referred to it when other agencies proved inadequate, by a Juvenile Referral Officer, and would decide on the most suitable method of treatment in consultation with parents and guardians. Other specific recommendations refer to the dangers to young people of over-secure and alien custodial care, and to the ultimate folly of spending huge sums of money on meihods which it is believed can be of little or no benefit either to the young person or to the community. Particularly, it is recommended that institutions such as adult prisons, St. Patrick's and Loughran House should never be used for young offenders. This work is not, and does not pretend to be, a comprehensive analysis of the legislative reforms necessary to achieve its objectives. Nor is it free from defects of style and presentation. However, in bringing together so much diverse information and in putting forward their recommendations for change, the authors have succeeded in their declared objective of providing us with material for informed debate and have produced a hook worth reading. Karen Banks.

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