The Gazette 1985

GAZETTE

APRIL 1985

BOOK REVIEWS

might, for instance, like to have historical tables of the rates of duty on conveyances on sale. I myself would welcome a table of the statutes cited throughout the book. A blank page might be included at the end of each chapter to allow for the insertion of on-going notes. These, however, are minor points in a work that was long overdue. In their introduction to Part I, the authors state that "the aim of this work is to extract the working principles of the legislation and case law and comment upon them for practical purposes". This they have more than achieved. The Institute and the authors are to be thanked and congratulated for their industry and the results they have achieved. This book deserves to be successful. Published last year it is in effect up to date since this year's Finance Bill contains only one section of general application. It is an indispensible part of the equipment of the busy practitioner. • George E. P. Johnston Constitutional Law of Ireland by David Gwynn Morgan, LL.M. (Lond)of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law. The Round Hall Press in association with Irish Academic Press. 214pp. (notes, tables and index 56pp). IR£22.50. Professor Kelly in his preface to "The Irish Constitu- tion" argues that the 1937 Constitution was "very largely a re-bottling of wine most of which was by then quite old and of familiar vintages". Mr. David Gwynn Morgan, Lecturer in Law at University College Cork, in his book "Constitutional Law in Ireland" writes on aspects of the re-bottling of the wine but does not neglect the vintage setting. Students are sometimes of the view that constitutional law only involves the logical and almost mechanical application of clearly formulated legal norms of inescapable authority as laid down in Bunreacht na hEireann. There is much more to the study of constitu- tional law. The author rightly emphasises that significant aspects of constitutional law flow from Acts of the Oireachtas and from judicial decisions. There is also the question of conventions — the unwritten constitutional rules. On my first perusal of "Constitutional Law in Ireland", I mused whether the title of the book was apt. The book does not deal with the entire range of Irish constitutional law. However, on a closer examination the author makes it clear that the book only deals with the institutions of government established by Bunreacht na hEireann. Thus, the book only deals with the "structure, composition, functions and inter-relationships of the principal organs of the state, viz. the Government, the Oireachtas and the Courts". Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that "Some men look at constitutions with sancti- monious reverence and deem them to be like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wi'sdom more than human and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. . . ." The author does not look at Bunreacht na hEireann with sanctimonious reverence. However, this book, as he

The Law of Stamp Duties by Michael O'Connor and Patrick S. Cahill. The Institute of Taxation. £13.00. Stamp duties having been in the first instance imported from the Continent, were already 200 years in operation when consolidated in the Stamp Act, 1891. Perhaps it is not surprising, therefore, that the first co-ordinated tax or duty in the E.E.C. should have been a stamp duty — Companies Capital Duty which was introduced here in the Finance Act, 1983, in implementation of an E.E.C. Directive. For more than 30 years following 1891, English texts provided guidance for practitioners here. However, owing to the growing divergence down the years in the laws applying to property and stamp duties in Ireland and England, those text books have become somewhat inadequate. The publication of this book fills a void that has been growing. The authors, practising solicitors, have approached their subject in a way that makes it readily understandable and readable. A glance at the table of contents shows at once the wide range of the duties and the authors' approach to their subject. The book is in seven parts and each part has its own index to the contents of the constituent chapters. There is, in addition, a detailed index to the whole volume. Part I is an introductory comment on aspects of the law on property, contracts, beneficial ownership, trans- mission of rights, and interests which arise in relation to the duties. Students in particular will find this, as well as the glossaries of instruments and technical terms, useful. The succeeding part will go some way to giving the reader a knowledge of the sources, categories and principles of a collection of duties that superficially have, in many cases, little in common and lack coherence. The mechanics and procedural elements are treated separately and cover such matters as assessment, adjudication, appeals and repayments. The remaining two-thirds of the volume is devoted to the various charges to duty. The treatment of each head of liability is individual and comprehensive. Many examples are furnished to expand the text, citing relevant cases. Conveyances, leases, settlements, mortgages and other instruments are dealt with in this way. A separate part is devoted to companies capital duty. The implica- tions in stamp duties generally for companies in the area of amalgamations, reconstructions, mortgages and inter- company transfers are covered at length embracing chargeability, exemptions and reliefs. For those interested in matters fiscal and questions such as whether stamp duties are consumer or capital taxes or both, the final part is a reminder of the expanding scope of those duties in recent years and their versatility. The presentation and printing leave nothing to be desired. The format is such that any developments which take place can readily be incorporated in future editions. In the first edition, which runs to some 300 pages, some slips are inevitable. At page 258, an erring word-processor has inserted a heading some paragraphs ahead of its appropriate place. There may, no doubt, be those who would like to see further material included in the book. Some readers

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