The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

JULY/AUGUST

1990

concenxratedly-written introduction to the subject, (2) comprehensive and erudite pointers to further reading (could these be inserted in a more systematic way in the third edition - "further reading" at the end of each section with a ten or twenty word synopsis of what the student should take from the article in question?) and (3) selected extracts from what the authors consider important, up-to-date cases. Are the cases selected appropri- ate and useful? Yes they are. Is the commentary helpful and accurate? Again, yes. Do the cases and the commentary combine together, enabling the reader to make informed judgments about the judicial process? In general, yes, but I think that in places there are gaps between the commentary and the cases, gaps so wide that the reader is left on his own to work out the connections between the com- mentary and the cases. Consider the t r ea tment of McGee, Norris and Murphy. Behind the issues in these cases, the authors diagnose on p. 27 a conflict between the utilitarian and natural law principles in Consti- t u t i onal i n t e r p r e t a t i on. They mention this again later, posing a number of stimulating questions for the discerning student to ask in considering the extracts. Case-law germane to the judicial resolution of the claims of interventionism and personal liberty is quoted exten- sively. The effect of this spread bet- ween commentary and case-law is peculiar. It stresses the short- comings of the Irish decisions, their arbitrary and ad hoc bases. It does not demonstrate how each case achieves a sophisticated judicial reconciliation of these particular opposing claims. One wonders whether all the judges have posed such intelligent questions to themselves as the authors of this textbook recommend to the reader. Whether more could have been achieved by re-arranging the commentary and the judgments, or by the inclusion of more extensive comment, or by taking judgments from other jurisdictions which deal in a more sophisticated judicial manner with these problems, or by a combination of all three is a vexed question. Suffice to say, the reader sees shortcomings without being

guided to better solutions. The comment that " t he Murphy case illustrated that . . . [the principles of natural law] . . . may lurk in a corner wa i t i ng to sp r i ng" is insufficient elucidation of this particular aspect of judicial Constitutional interpretation. A slightly different example of the way in which the cases and commentary do not match is evident in the discussion of the contemporary Irish judicial attitude to the role of equity, noted briefly on p. 12. It cannot be said that this authorial perception informs the selection of cases to be found later on, yet surely this issue is of practical importance in the forma- tion of a view of Irish judicial method. Mi sp r i n t s, omi ss i ons f r om indices, and other shortcomings in the physical production of books are too often facilely ascribed to hapless writers rather than to those responsible for the commercial pro- duction of the fruits of authorship. In each of these respects, this text deserved better from its publishers than it got. The book has more than its fair share of quite spectacular (and in one case, obscene) typographical errors, omissions etc. This is not an insuperable impedi- ment to the usefulness of the work. The work is however the most up-to-date, useful introduction to the major features of the Irish legal system, and no student beginning law should be without it. DR. DAV ID T O M K I N MO D E RN LAW OF P E R S ON AL PROPER TY IN E N G L A ND A N D I R E L AND [By A.P. Bell. Butterworth (Ireland) Ltd. & Bu t t e r wo r th & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. ixiv + 546 + 12pp. Price IRE49.50] This book aims to examine in the context of English and Irish law wh a t i n t e r es ts may exist in personal property. It is in three parts. The first is devoted to an analysis of property and property rights and a definition of personal property. The second part deals with interests in personal property, and is subdivided into an analysis of possession, legal ownership, bailment, possessory security, equitable ownership, non-

BOOK REVIEWS

T H E I R I SH L EGAL S Y S T EM [By R. Byrne & J.R McCutcheon. Bu t t e rwo r th (Ireland) Limited. 374pp + xxxix. Price: IRE25.00] This is the second edition of this cases and materials book, which has already proved its value to Irish students of commerce and law. It covers a wider range of topics than its predecessor. The first edition concentrated on an overview of the organisation and structure of the Irish legal system, w i t h chap t e rs on precedent, legislation, and cons t i t u t i onal judicial review. This edition deals in a more extensive fashion with the legal profession, court systems and procedures, access, remedies, tribunals and adjudicative bodies, and the impact of EC and inter- national law. This edition also appears to attempt a greater degree of com- parison between emerging trends in Irish law by contrast with de- velopments in English and, to a lesser degree, other jurisdictions. Independent of this project, the t wo au t ho rs have published extensively on a variety of topics of Irish law, and their familiarity with judicial and legislative develop- ments, acquired in other scholarly ven t u r es, con t r i bu t es to the authority of this book. The first eleven chapters set the legal scene by describing the outline of Irish law. The last three chapters deal wi th precedent, interpretation of legislation and the Constitution and Constitutional rights. These each comprise (1) a

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