The Gazette 1984

SEPTEMBER 1984

GAZETTE

BOOK REVIEW Constitutional Law and Constitutional Rights in Ireland by Brian Doolan. Published by Gill and Macmillan. 194pp, 1984. Price £9.95 paperback. In the Preface to his book, the author refers to the general interest in constitutional law and rights which undeniably exists today in Ireland and expresses surprise that, despite the 47 years which have passed since the Constitution was first enacted "there is a noticeable absence of easily understood material on this, our fundamental law". Readers of the Gazette may perhaps find this assertion surprising, given those two unquestionably excellent treatises on the subject — "The Irish Constitution" by Professor J. M. Kelly and "Cases & Materials on the Irish Constitution" by O'Reilly and Redmond. These two in-depth works have become established as the standard reference works on the Constitution, for both practitioners and students, and this reviewer certainly finds both works eminently comprehsensible. The author gives his view that there are at least two ways of studying the Constitution. Firstly, to begin with the Preamble and work in sequence through to Article 50, giving each article attention in turn. He finds this method (which is the one used quite effectively by Professor Kelly) "repetitive and diffuse". He therefore adopts the second method, which is to arrange related articles under subject headings and then to consider each in turn, a method which he claims brings order and "hopefully leads to understanding". The book (which is softback, with 194 pages) is in three parts. Part One has individual chapters on the Nation, the State, the Oireachtas, the President, the Government, the Courts, etc. Each chapter explains its subject clearly enough, with reference to decided cases, and the author is not averse to the use of criticism where he considers such warranted, although not all may agree with his sentiments. Part Two of the book deals with Constitutional Rights and contains individual chapters on equality before the law, personal liberty, freedom of association, assembly and expression, family rights and property rights. Again, there is lucid exposition of each topic, and the relevant cases are referred to. Part Three of the book contains a summary of 101 of the most important Constitutional Law cases. The reports are rather brief, only a few lines in many cases, and give the basic facts and the finding of the Court. Unfortunately these summaries of the leading cases are not sufficiently detailed either for the practitioner or the law student, although they will probably suffice for the lay reader. Certainly this is a readable and informative book, but it does cover the same ground as the other works already referred to, and not at all in as great depth or detail. In this regard, it must of course be said that this is a much shorter work and therefore does not set out to rival the established works. However, for this reason, it probably will not be much used by either practitioners or students, although it should find ready acceptance among members of the public interested in the Constitution. To that extent, it is a worthwhile endeavour, in that it will

bring understanding of the subject to whoever does read it. The book is well presented, with the usual Tables of Constitutional Articles, Statutes and Cases and with a Glossary to explain legal terms to the lay reader. • Karl Hayes

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