The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

JUNE 1994

N E W S

L i c e n s i ng D i f f i c u l t i es D i s c u s s ed w i t h D e p a r t m e n t

Two members of the Law Society met recently with officials at the Department of Justice about the need to ensure the primacy of District Court records concerning seven-day licences and hotel licences. Currently, there is no difference on the face of the two licences which makes it difficult to differentiate them. The Law Society representatives pointed out that inaccuracies on the licensing register were posing problems for members of the profession and exposing them to the risk of negligence claims. They made the point that a person should be entitled to rely on District Court records and to obtain a certificate as to what was shown in the licensing register. It was vitally important that every licensee knew exactly what type of licence he possessed. In a recent press statement, the Law Society said that the Minister of Commerce and Technology's proposal to limit compensation awards in personal injury cases amounted to "a vote of no confidence in one of the most fundamental aspects of the entire legal system - the adjudication by judges, who are independent under the Constitution, of the amount of compensation a person should get when he/she suffers personal injury through no fault of their own." The statement, issued on June 9, noted that the Minister was considering establishing on a statutory footing a medical panel to examine injuries and awards on a continuing basis. "Such a proposal could have the most serious and far reaching implications for the administration of justice, as established under the Constitution, and the Minister should now explain in detail precisely what function such a panel of doctors would have. Is the Minister proposing that judges should The Society's representatives, Tom Shaw and Maeve Hayes, informed the

Department that the Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund had become aware of 250 licences that were not in order for some reason, or were a different type of licence to that shown on the District Court register. This had led to a number of negligence cases arising from circumstances whefe solicitors had certified title on the basis of an entry on the District Court register and subsequently the entry on the register was found to be incorrect. They argued that it was unfair and unreasonable that solicitors were being exposed to negligence claims in this manner. They suggested that the solution to the problem would be to enact an "amnesty" provision in legislation to the effect that where a person could show that he had been engaged in trading in accordance with the terms of the licence as shown on the District be replaced by a panel of doctors?," the statement enquired. "Almost certainly, such a proposal would be unconstitutional." The statement also criticised the Minister for his failure to unveil the detail of his proposals, or even to produce a discussion document, although it was now more than twelve months since he had announced his intention to introduce legislation to cap compensation awards. "He has, therefore, been recycling the basic idea - one that, on the face of it, is bound to be popular with the motoring public - without producing the necessary follow-up." The statement continued: "The Minister is advocating an approach which is radical - even Draconian - and it is incumbent on him to produce coherent developed proposals so that the Irish public can judge for themselves precisely how their rights are going to be curtailed, allegedly in the interest of securing reduced insurance costs." D

Court register, he would be deemed to have that particular type of licence. Department of Justice officials said that it was unlikely that such a provision would be enacted in isolation without a full and detailed examination of the entire licensing law. Reform of the licensing laws was not included irt the Programme for Government and, therefore, would not be undertaken in the near future. The officials accepted, however, that the licensing register should be accurate and undertook to discuss with their colleagues in the Department how the position could be improved. The Law Society representatives suggested that the licensing register should be accorded the same status as a folio in the Land Registry so that it could be regarded by all parties as an absolute document. • L a w D i r e c t o r y 1 9 9 4 - C o r r e c t i on Users of the 1994 Law Directory are requested to note that on page 287 of the directory under the entry for CUSSEN, ROBERT & SON, an incorrect telephone number is published for the branch office of Cussen, Michael & Co, at Rathkeale. The correct number is 069 64003. D

M i n i s t e r V o t e s N o C o n f i d e n ce i n t h e J u d i c i a l S y s t em - L a w S o c i e t y

C o r r e c t i o n

I Readers are asked to note a correction to the article Are Your Books in Order??? published on page 173 of the June edition of the Gazette (Vol. 85 no. 5). The penultimate paragraph on page 173 should read: In addition all office account transactions must be recorded in a cash book and ledger, (Regulation | 10(2)(b)).

and not Regulation 10(2)(6) as incorrectly printed.

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