The Gazette 1995

GAZKTTK DECEMBER 1995

Judicial Review; A Thematic Approach.

linking the initial statement and the later statement there is a danger the reader will stop at the first sentence and go no further. The work is broken into four sections. The first section consists of eight chapters on statutory rights. Given the statutory differences between the two jurisdictions this chapter is of little use except where it relates to the transfer of an undertaking. The information here is well presented but great care must be taken to ensure that general principles sought to be applied in Ireland do not arise from the UK Domestic Regulations but rather from the EU Directive given the significant differences between our Regulations and the UK equivalent. Prof. Upex has an eye for the practical issues relevant to legislation and this allows him to give neat summaries of what might otherwise can be complicated law. His piece on the transfer of undertakings is a case in point. He manages to accurately summarise the Secretary of State for Employment v Spence and Litster v Forth Drydock & Engineering Company Limited (In Receivership) in the space of one and a half pages. He does what all good teachers should do which is to highlight the area in which a problem might arise and point the reader in the direction of where the relevant law will be found. He avoids any social or political dimension to his approach or comments. The chapter on redundancy redundancy itself quoting some useful case law not easily found elsewhere. The definition is different to the Irish equivalent but has sufficient parallel to make some of the precedent case law of use to us. As with almost every aspect of this book the practitioner using it must be very familiar with the equivalent Irish law in order to spot sometimes very subtle differences. Statutory definitions are dealt with in excellent detail but again one has to first understand the parallels with Irish legislation before definitions can be relied on. The definition of "the date of dismissal" in chapter 5 is not appropriate to Irish law whereas the definition of "lock-out" is useful and parallel case law such as Tramp Shipping Co-operation v Greenwich is only of use in Ireland in its references to the definition of

The Law of Termination of Employment

The development of judicial review has been one of the pre-eminent achievements of our times. Apart from the election of the legislature, judicial review is the citizen's legal "weapon" in a modern democratic state. The "supervision" of the legislature and public bodies is the core element of judicial review. Judicial review has emerged as a counterweight to the gFowth of executive power. Professor Brigid Hadfield, professor of public law at Queen's University, Belfast, has brought together in this book contributions from various scholars who examine judicial review, from various perspectives, in the jurisdictions of England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Judicial review in the context of the.environment, education, local government, the criminal process, prisons and national security are the subjects of individual chapters. Mr Gerard Hogan, barrister and Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, has contributed a chapter on the law of judicial review in this jurisdiction. There is considerable similarity in the law and procedure of judicial review in the United Kingdom and Ireland with some notable differences particularly on the public/private law divide. Lord Woolf in his preface to the book states that the majority of administrative lawyers practising in the High Court in London "are abysmally unaware" of the decisions on judicial review in the other jurisdictions that have similar law and procedure in relation to judicial review of administrative actions. This book will assist in remedying that lacuna. Judicial Review: A Thematic Approach is an authorative practice- oriented text written by a distinguished group of lawyers expert in the field of judicial review.

by Robert Upex - Fourth Edition Sweet & Maxwell p.p. 482 £75.00 stg The first sentence of the preface of Prof. Upex's latest edition explains why to a very great extent, his excellent work is of limited relevance to Irish lawyers. He states "So great have been the changes in Employment Law since the previous edition of this book that it is tempting for commentators to resort to hyperbole in describing them". While these changes have arisen through many important Court decisions in the UK and from the European Court of Justice, Prof. Upex goes on to refer to the legislative changes in the UK. These legislative changes have led to a significant widening of the difference between Irish and British employment law. The legislature in the UK has shown commendable attention to detail in building proper structures and frameworks for the operation of primary legislation. This is notably lacking in Ireland. While the primary legislation has many similar features the detail and operational framework is so significantly different as to make it very difficult to find parallels in Irish law. This is a very substantial work and is both comprehensive and well written. It is, however, as I have stated, of limited appeal in Ireland. There is some useful information to be found here that is not readily available elsewhere. An example is the question of references for former employees which is given a chapter to itself at the end of the book. While it consists of only four pages it is a useful summary of current law and makes reference to the House of Lords Decision in Spring v Guardian Assurance pic. The chapter opens with the statement that an employer is not obliged to provide a reference for an employee. In the Spring case the majority of the Law Lords stated that a term may be implied into certain contracts of employment that a reference will be furnished. Prof. Upex refers to that view at the end of the chapter. In not

Dr Eamonn G Hall

361