The Gazette 1991

april

1991

g a z e t t e

Both these books are noteworthy and timely contributions that will serve as a useful reference for ongoing research activities and, hopefully, stimulate discussion and debate about the issue of data protection and privacy. Eamonn G. Hall WORDGLOSS (Words and Concepts you need to Know, Where they come from. What they mean). By Jim O'Donnell [Dublin; Institute of Public Administration in association w i t h Irish Permanent Building Society 1990. IRE9.95 paperback]. The basis of law is language. Great lawyers and great judges must have a command of language. Words are the tools of the lawyer's trade. The solicitor and barrister must, by the use of words, con- vince the tribunal of the Tightness of his or her case. The judge is often the interpreter of words. In some cases, the judges are the final interpreters of the meaning of words. Justice Jackson of the US Supreme Court wrote in Brown -v- Allen 3 44 US 446, 540 that " w e are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are f i n a l " . The Supreme Court is often the final authority on the meaning of a

and generally. Professor David H. Flaherty of t he University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, emphasises comparative aspects and places the .issues relating to personal data into the broader framework of national policies and strategies for the development and ma n a g eme nt of i n f o r ma t i on resources. Herbert Burkert clarifies the differences between legislation on data protection and legislation on acess to government information. Professor emeritus Jan Hellner treats the notion of tort liability in t he compu t er con t ex t. Susan Co l man in her a r t i c le t i t l ed "Practising Computer Law" reveals the interdisciplinary nature of the field in her discussion of the law of computation (lex computationis). Peter Seipel who is professor of law and informatics at the University of Stockholm deals w i th laws on access to information held by public authorities and the regula- tion of various processes in com- merce, administration and transport where electronic messages are r ap i d ly beg i nn i ng t o r ep l ace traditional paper-bound communi- cation. Cecilia Magnusson deals w i t h a number of fundamental issues associated w i th automation in contexts where legal norms are c r ea t ed and app l i ed. Ot her contributions deal w i th practical and theoretical aspects of com- puter law. In Transborder Flow of Personal Data within the E.C., A.C. Nugter presents the fruits of his doctoral thesis. This book analyses the privacy statutes of four European countries i.e. Germany, France, The Un i t ed K i n g d om and The Netherlands and their impact on the transborder f l ow of personal data within the private sector. The main issue under consideration is how these statutes regulate the transborder flow of personal data and, subsequen t l y, w h a t t h is implies for subjects whose data are involved and for data users and computer bureaus operating on i n t e r na t i onal markets. Special attention is paid to the impact of the EC Treaty on the transborder f l ow of personal data. The author also describes what should be done to safeguard the interest of data subjects and privacy protection in the interests of international firms in the free flow of information.

word. The Supreme Court is often the Great Dictionary. Professor Brian Farrell in his per- ceptive foreward to Wordg/oss notes that too often we speak and write words, w i t hout much regard for, or even knowledge of, their roots and meanings. Professor Farrell states that it is precisely that discriminating awareness of the root-meanings of words wh i ch distinguishes the educated, the discerning, the critical elite. The reader's appetite is whe t t ed by Professor Farrell's announcement that Jim O'Donnell, the author, has c o n s t r u c t ed " a n ad v en t u r e- p l a y g r o u n d" w i t h wo r ds and concepts that leads to a fuller appreciation, and therefore a more exact and powerful command, of language. Jim O'Donnell, the author of Wordg/oss, is assistant director general of the Institute of Public Adm i n i s t r a t i on (IPA). He has developed the IPA's periodical and book pub l i s h i ng p r o g r amme virtually from scratch. He origina- ted the IPA's perennial best seller Administration Yearbook & Diary in 1967 as well as Young Citizen, a social and political educa t i on magazine for post-primary schools, and other publications. He has published almost a hundred books for the IPA on a wide range of public affairs topics by some of the leading authors of our day.

The Táinaiste, John Wilson, TD, with Jim O'Donnell, the author, at the launch of Wordg/oss

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