The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1991

Restoration of Companies Struck-off Practitioners are reminded that the Companies Act, 1990 has amend- ed Section 12 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1982, so that companies that do not for two consecutive years make annual returns required by Sections 125 and 126 of the Companies Act, 1963, expose themselves to being struck-off the Register of Companies. Section 246 of the 1990 Act has inserted a new Section 311A in the 1963 Act to the effect that application may be made for 12 months from the strike off to the Registrar of Companies rather than to the High Court. Whilst this is likely to be of some assistance to practitioners, note that the fee for examining an application for the restoration of a company to the Register is IR£500 payable to the Companies Office. This is before any other costs or outlay are incurred. Company Law Committee The Company and Commercial Law Committee would like to bring to the attention of the profession publications on the following subjects by the Irish Association of Investment Managers: 1. Code of Best Practice concern- ing the new insider dealing law under the Companies Act, 1990. 2. Amended Guidelines on share option and profit sharing schemes. 3. Guidelines on company pur- chase of own shares. Copies of these codes and guide- lines are available from the IAIM, 7 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2. Company Law Committee Irish Association of Investment Managers Guidelines

Local Government (Multi- Story Buildings) Act, 1988 Under Section 2 (2) of the Act, the Local Authority is bound to serve notice on the owner of a multi- storey building which has been constructed before the commence- ment of the Act requiring the owner to furnish the Local Authority with a certificate in respect of the build- ing in one of the forms appended to the Local Government (Multi- Storey Buildings) (Amendment) Regulations, 1990. Under Section 4 (1) of the Act there is an obligation to furnish a certificate to the Local Authority in respect of a multi-storey building which has not been completed before the commencement of the Act and such certificate must be furnished before the building or any part of the building is occupied. For some time after the passing of the Act (because the Local Authority had not had time to serve notices on owners) it was felt sufficient to merely obtain a certificate from a 'competent person' which could then be sent to the Local Authority once the Local Authority had served a notice pursuant to the Act. However, it has come to the Committee's attention that a number of such certificates have not been accepted by the Local Authority and have not therefore been recorded on the Register which the Local Authority is bound to maintain under the Local Government (Multi-Storey Build- ings) Regulations, 1988. Solicitors acting for purchasers or tenants are therefore advised that in all cases they should not just receive a copy of the certificate furnished or to be furnished to the Local Authority but also some evidence from the Local Authority that it has accepted and recorded the certificate on the Register established under the Act. Conveyancing Committee 323

Communication with clients of another solicitor

The attention of the Litigation Com- mittee has been drawn to a number of instances of solicitors communi- cating directly with clients of collea- gues in contentious litigation particularly in personal injury cases. Practitioners are referred to Chapter 7 (7) of the Guide to Professional Conduct of Solicitors in Ireland (1988) and Rule 7 of the Inter- national Bar Association Inter- national Code of Ethics (1986) both of which are published hereunder:- A Guide to Professional Conduct of Solicitors in Ireland 7. (7) A solicitor should neither interview nor otherwise com- municate with the client of another solicitor except with that solicitor's consent. In exceptional circumstances, this general rule does not apply. Where a solicitor on the other side of a transaction or a case does not reply to corres- pondence, a solicitor may be justified in writing directly to the client of the other solicitor. A solicitor who intends to write to a client of another solicitor should first warn that solicitor of his intention to do so. International Code of Ethics 7. It shall be considered improper for lawyers to communicate about a particular case directly with any person whom they know to be represented in that case by another lawyer without the latter's consent. Litigation Committee International Bar Association