The Gazette 1982

g a z e t t e

a p r i l 1982

Matters of concern Matrimonial problems will be the subject of the next Law Society symposium, "A Matter of Matrimony", to be held at Blackhall Place, Dublin, on May 29. Contributors will be Mrs Kay Begg, Bristol Court Conciliation Services;- District Justice Sean Delap; Alan Shatter, Solicitor, and a psychiatrist, Dr Peter Fahy. Solicitors are invited to attend and participate in the discussions — formal and informal. Because accommoda- tion and catering facilities are limited, members of the profession who plan to attend should advise Miss Ann Kane, Premises Manager, as soon as possible. In Cork Useful discussions followed the papers at the recent symposium, "How Safe is your Food", held in Cork. Mr Michael Enright, President, Southern Law Association, and Mr Gerald J. M. Moloney, Solicitor, Cork, acted as chairmen of the sessions. Mr Moloney, in closing th symposium, answered a question about the Law Society's sponsorship of such meetings by pointing out that the profession has a caring role in society and therefore sees it as a duty to provide opportunities for experts to present their views on matters of public concern and the law's relationship to them. Speakers at the symposium were: Gerard Downey, Senior Research Officer An Foras Taluntais; Denis Greene, Solicitor; Lee Kidney, President, Hotel and Catering Institute; Gerald Buckley, Chief Veterinary Officer, Cork County council, and Mrs Mary Falvey, Senior Health Inspector, Southern Health Board. The participants included representatives of consumer groups, the food industry, local authorities, UCC and the Munster Institute. • Practice Note Issue of Motions for Judgment in Default of Defence From time to time solicitors for Plaintiffs issue motions for judgment in default of defence, without any communi- cation to the solicitor for the other side prior to the service of the Motion papers. The council of the Society ruled as far back as 1972 that a solicitor should notify his colleagues in advance of the intention to issue the motion. The Society feels that the issue is a matter of professional courtesy between solicitors. • CORRECTION "Criminal Injury to Property" Jan/Feb Gazette, 1982 p. 5. The paragraph subheaded "Damage" should read as follows: — 'Damage' includes the total or partial destruction of the property and any injury thereto. Save where the unlawful taking of property during a riot comes within the ambit of section 6, there is no compensation for property merely damaged though there is compensation for property stolen and found damaged. {Irwin v Sligo Co. Council ) [1957] Irish Jurist Reports.

apprenticeship (it is to be hoped) the apprentice will have a little experience in a fairly large number of areas and specific experience in a few areas of law. Furthermore, courses have been set up in co-operation with the universities and in co-operation with the judges and public prosecutors. But those are aimed at more experienced advocates. Naturally these older advocates should also keep their know-how up-to-date and follow the developments in law. For this category the part-obligatory character of the courses for apprentices does not apply and thus participation is rather casual. This is an additional problem for the Bar Association which for the time being seems insoluble. Anyway the training of the young advo- cates has the higher priority. Thus, the training of the apprentice in the Netherlands is still largely founded on the practical training within the law firm. It still shows fairly large gaps, however, which are only being partially patched by the external training facilities, which for the time being are financed from the annual contributions of the advocates. At the moment the Bar is busy finding options to improve the training, both in the form of a separate post-graduate curriculum for advocates and in the form of an improvement of the training facilities package during the apprenticeship period. For this purpose, the co-operation of the government, and particularly that of the universities, is needed. A co-operation which has not been forthcoming until now because of the lack of financial means. Thus, for the time being the advocates themselves will have to take care of, and to co-operate with, the training of their young colleagues as far as it is financially and practically within their power. • The following was issued to the media through the Public Relations Committee on 29 March 1982: "Government charges for starting an action in the Courts»were increased today by between 25% and 33%. "The new Stamp Duty for the issue of a writ to commence an action in the High Court is now £31, compared with £24 a year ago and £19 in March 1980. For a Circuit Court action the initial duty is now £10, increased from £7.50 a year ago and £6 in 1980; the District Court charge will now be £2, double what it was in 1980. "A Law Society spokesman said today that while the increases may seem comparatively insignificant they are an indication of the increasing costs being imposed by the State on persons exercising their rights in seeking justice through the Courts. He added: "It is vital that the State should ensure that access to the Courts is available to everybody, and this type of annual increase in the cost of initiating an action could be a deterrent." Court Fees Increased

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