The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

MARCH 1989

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In this Issue Viewpoint An Outline of

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LAWSOCIETY

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OF IRELAND

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I H i Vol.83 No.4 April!

Viewpoint The recent survey of Courthouses, conducted by the Law Society, has produced several startling, if not altogether surprising, statistics. It is quite clear that of the 103 Court- houses surveyed, the majority fell far short of the very minimum standards that might be expected. The practitioners and members of the public who have had occasion to attend courts have long been familiar with the difficulty in actually hearing what is going on. It is not unusual for a client to leave court and then proceed to ask his solicitor to tell him what has happened. Sometimes, the client won't even know if he has won or lost. Where amplifying facilities have been provided, they have often been inadequate or are ill- maintained. In addition, practitioners have long been familiar with the dilapidated decorative conditions of Courthouses and probably most practitioners have felt that their local Courthouse is merely an exceptionally bad case rather than the rule. The Law Society's Survey, covering as it does such a large number of Courthouses throughout the country, shows clearly that the standard right across the board and in all regions is abysmal. Added to the long-standing and well-known problems mentioned above the survey shows most Courthouses to be inadequately heated, the majority to have no consultation rooms, to be in a dilapidated state of repair and in very many in- stances to have inadequate toilet facilities or none at all. It would appear that little or no money or attention is being given to the provision of these facilities, funda- mental as they are to the provision of justice in the State and the main- tenance of the democratic process. The Courts worst affected, although by no means exclusively so, are the District Courts which deal with the largest number of cases both in the criminal, matrimonial and civil fields.

Dissatisfaction with judical systems, and a feeling of alienation are the inevitable result for the parties, witnesses, family and friends attending a case where they cannot hear what is going on. Add to this the difficulty of people who have waited for some hours for their case to be called without the most basic of facilities including easily accessible toilets. People subjected to such treatment can hardly be expected to form a reasonable opinion as to whether justice has been done. The root of the problem appears to lie with the division of responsi- bility between central government and its various departments and local authorities. It is clear that neither government nor local authority is prepared to contribute any significant resources to the maintenance of Courthouses unless forced to do so. The cynic might attribute this to a lack of votes in the issue. High Court proceedings were commenced before improvements were introduced to one local Court- house while, in several instances well documented by the Press, District Justices have.had to refuse to proceed with the court's business before such problems as rat infestation and leaking roofs have been tackled. In some cases the state of the local Courthouse has been so embarrassing to the solicitors practising in the area that they have had to "whip around" and have contributed money out of their own pockets to have basic facilities provided. The duty to provide "Justice" is sometimes seen as purely the preserve of the lawyer. However, Justice is a much wider issue, fundamental to the running of our State and our system of Govern- ment based as it is on the inter- relationship between the three arms of the executive, adminis- tration and Courts. Lawyers, be they Solicitors, Barristers or Contd. on pmgo 121

Extradition Law

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President's Column

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Life Assurance

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Practice Notes

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Professional Purposes

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People and Places

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Civil Legal Aid Scheme

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Class of 1956 -

Where are they now?

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EC Company Law

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McGabhann v. Law Society

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Professional Information

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* Executive Editor: Mary Gaynor Committee: Geraldine Clarke, Chairman Eamonn G. Hall, Vice-Chairman John F. Buckley Gary Byrne Patrick McMahon Charles R. M. Meredith Advertising: Seán Ó hOisín. Telephone: 3 0 5 2 36 3 0 7 8 60 Printing: Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford. * The views expressed in this publication, save where otherwise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. ©aire Murphy John Schutte

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. Tel.: 7 1 0 7 1 1. Telex: 31219. Fax: 710704.

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