The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1995

law. A course must prepare a student for perhaps 4 0 years of professional life and must therefore still equip the lawyer to practise in the area by teaching the European Legal Method. For example, it is difficult for some common lawyers to struggle with concepts such as "agreement" in Article 85 of the EC Treaty and not read into the term the concept of contracts. EU law is not remote law. It is wrong for us to keep talking about "Brussels'V'over there'T'Europe'V "Eurocrats" and so on. EU law is here. The European Commission will continue laying golden egg proposals, fines and decisions. There are limitations. It is vital to recognise ones limitations in terms of experience, expertise and resources. There is a great need to play down the high political element. Many clients are put off by the political nature of EU law and the enormity of the EU system. It is true that, in certain areas of EU law, the political dimension is more apparent than it may be in municipal law but it

is much less so than in the case of t public international law. Similarly, the EU institutional apparatus is enormous but institutions such as the European Courts and the European Commission are extraordinarily open and transparent in the way in which they deal with the public. It is therefore clear that solicitors should not be worried about dealing with such a regime but should instead assist their clients in realising that the system can work to their advantage. The English Law Society has assisted its members by publishing a book entitled "Solicitors and the European Union: Making EC Law Work for your Client". It would be very useful if the Law Society of Ireland were to follow the example of their English counterpart and produce a book which would distil the practice of the European courts and present real-life examples, checklists and guidance for Irish solicitors. For example, a check- list of the EC implications of various transactions and common situations which arise in practice.

the European Courts. However, every Irish solicitor who ever has to practice or advise on EU law must pay particular attention to the jurisprudence and practice of the European Courts. *Vincent Power is a solicitor in A&L Goodbody, Solicitors. He practises in the firm's EU and Competition Law Department. References 36. Lasok. The European Court of Justice: Practice and Procedure (2nd ed., 1994), pages 124 - 129. 37. See the excellent paper by Temple Lang in The Legal Implications of 1992 (1988). See also miscellaneous articles including Guy, "How to Attract European Clients" Gazette 90/13, 31 Mar. 1993 and Jacobs' interesting article "Preparing English Lawyers for Europe" (1992) ELRev.232. 38. Case C-213/89 R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame [ 1990] ECR 1-2433, [1990] 3 CMLR 1; on appeal C-221/89 11991 ] 3 CMLR 589. 39. O'Neill and Coppel EC Law for UK Lawyers (1994), page 3. 40. The UK Department of Trade and Industry, Review of the Implementation and Enforcement of EC Law in the UK (1993) at page v para. I. 41. Ihid, page 41, para. 4.14. 42. For example, Clifford Chance has recently established such a group. 43. See Pertek, "The Europe of Universities" (1992) 1 I YEL 257.

In conclusion, Irish solicitors do not spend a great deal of their time before

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