The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

FEBRUARY 1989

point out several sub-sections such as s.43 (1) - (Prosecution empowered to put previous con- victions of accused in evidence (and s.42 (2) (Chief Officer authorising searches) which are almost certainly unconstitutional. However, no comment is made in relation to s.37 (6) which author- ises the sentence of whipping (maximum sentence 50 strokes). The final part of the Book is a readable discussion of possible reforms to the larceny code. The Theft Act was introduced in 1968 in England but many problems have remained unsolved. One difficulty is that the very structure of the State is partly built on dishonesty and unfairness. A Statute that attacked all forms of dishonesty would therefore be an attack on the State itself as it now exists. Abuse of monopoly power, insider trading, misuse of the protection given to corporate entities can all be said to be dishonest but not criminal and yet can cause more harm to the public than petty theft. Whatever one feels about this there can be no doubt that the Act is in need of reform. Many of its Sections are outdated, unconstitutional and even morally objectionable. The Irish Statutes Annotated series is to be welcomed as a necessary innovation in legal publishing. I am delighted that the series commenced with this Act. The second book in the series will deal with the Civil Liability Act 1961. For the reasons outlined earlier I would ask the Editor to annotate as many pre-1922 Statutes as possible. I would also hope that the subsequent books would keep up the same standard as this one. Despite the fact that the Book deals with a technical subject it is readable and interesting and contains very few errors. I would recommend it to any lawyer who appears regularly before our Criminal Courts. In fact those lawyers who do not appear before our Courts should read it also - every man is presumed to know the law after all. Mi chael Staines

majority of pre- 1922 Statutes - these cannot be obtained in the Government Stationery Office. Due to the inactivity of succes- sive Governments many of the main Statutes governing criminal law fall into that category. The Vagrancy Act 1824, The Offences against the Person Act 1861, The Dublin Police Act 1842, The Childrens Act 1908 and the Larceny Act 1916 are cases in point. On several occasions I have witnessed legal argument in Court in relation to these Acts falter and end as the Act in question was not readily available even in the Court offices. The Round Hall Press have commenced a series of books called Irish Statutes Annotated which may rectify the problem to some extent. The first book in the series, "The Larceny Act, 1916", contains the full text of that Act together with all subsequent amendments. Also included is an introduction to the Act, a full case index, a commentary on the various Sections of the Act and finally some thoughts on reform. This introduction deals with the whole concept of larceny as a crime against possession as opposed to ownership and the difficulties the law has had in reconciling that concept with various dishonest actions which deprive persons of their goods but which do not amount to the crime of larceny. Indeed some of the illogical and peculiar English decisions are judicial attempts to criminalise obviously dishonest behaviour which does not come within the framework of the Act. It also discusses at length the difficult problem of "Possession" in law which has also given rise to irreconcilable judicial judgements. The commentary on the Act itself is informative and easily readable though uneven in places. Because the Act is so old many of the Sections now are otiose and in some cases almost certainly unconstitutional. I would have liked a greater discussion of the unconstitutional aspects of the Act though the Author does

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