The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

OCTOBER 1996

B O OK

R E V I E W S

Guide to Finance Act published T h e R e v e n ue C omm i s s i o n e rs h a ve published g u i d a n ce notes on the 1996 Finance Act, giving a section by section explanation of the n ew legislation and any ame n dme n ts ma de to existing law. T h e T ax Administration Liaison Comm i t t e e, wh i ch includes representatives f r om the L aw Society, has w e l c omed the publication of the notes, wh i ch we re previously only available to inspectors of taxes. Co p i es of the Notes for Guidance on the Finance Act, 1996, are available f r om the Go v e r nme nt Publications Sales Office, Mo l e s wo r th Street, Dublin 2, price £20. • Competition in Ireland Competition law and policy in Ireland (Oak T r ee Press) e x am i n es the basic e c o n om ic principles of competition policy and r e v i ews both Irish case law and the decisions of the Comp e t i t i on Authority. T h e authors, Patrick Ma s s ey and Paula O ' H a r e, also look at the issues surrounding the introduction of c omp e t i t i on into semi-State industries. T h e b o ok costs £ 45 (hardback) or £ 2 4 . 95 (paperback). Years of drink A n ew r e f e r e n ce b o ok on I r e l a n d 's licensing laws w as launched by Justice Minister No ra Ow e n earlier this mo n t h. T h e L i c e n s i ng Acts 1833-1995 w as written by barrister Co n s t a n ce Ca s s i dy and a i ms to g u i de practitioners 'through the ma ze of legislation g o v e r n i ng the sale and c o n s ump t i on of intoxicating liquor in Ireland'. T h e b o ok costs £ 1 50 and is published by ' R o u nd Hall Swe et & Ma xwe l l. •

Mg r . G e r a rd S h e e h y, J C D , Ba r r i s t e r- a t - L a w, J u d ge of the Du b l in R e g i o n al Ma r r i a ge T r i b u n al a nd of t he Du b l in Me t r o p o l i t an T r i b u n a l, a nd C o n s u l t or to t he R o m a n P o n t i f i c al C o u n c il f or t he I n t e r p r e t a t i on of t he L a w s of t he C h u r c h. O t h er m e m b e rs of the editorial b o a rd are Rt. R e v. Mg r. R a l ph B r o wn (We s t m i n s t e r ), R e v. D o n al Ke l l y, J CD ( O s s o r y ), R e v. A i d an Mc G r a t h, O F M , J C D a nd R e v. F r a n c is C. Mo r r i s e y, OM I , J C D ( O t t a w a ). M a n y a s p e c ts of the C o d e will be f am i l i ar to civil l a wy e r s. T h e c o n c e pt of d u e p r o c e ss is o n e of the c a r d i n al p r i n c i p l es to be o b s e r v ed by c o m p e t e nt t r i b u n a ls that i m p l e m e nt t he C a n o n L a w. C a n o n 1446 u r g es that all p e r s o n s, w i th d u e r e g a rd to j u s t i c e, s h o u ld e n s u re that d i s p u t es u n d er the c o de are, as f ar as p o s s i b l e, a v o i d ed a nd a re settled p r omp t ly a nd w i t h o ut r a n c o u r. In relation to j u d g e s of c o m p e t e nt c h u r ch t r i b u n a l s, the c o d e s p e c i f i es that t h ey a re not to u n d e r t a ke the h e a r i ng of a c a se in w h i ch a ny p e r s o n al interest m a y be i n v o l v ed by r e a s on of c o n s a n g u i n i ty or a f f i n i ty in a ny d e g r ee in t he d i r e ct line a nd u p to t he f o u r th d e g r ee ( f o u r th c o u s i n) of the c o l l a t e r al line, or by r e a s on of g u a r d i a n s h ip or t u t e l a g e, or of c l o se a c q u a i n t a n c e s h ip or m a r k ed hostility, or p o s s i b le f i n a n c i al p r o f it or loss. T h i s is the ideal j u d g e. T h e w r i t er of this n o te h as n o i n v o l v e m e nt in t he a p p l i c a t i on of C a n o n L a w ; t he p u r p o se of this n o te is

The Canon Law, Letter & Spirit: A Practical Guide to the Code of Canon Law The Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Dublin, Veritas Publications, xxv+1060pp, 1995, £65, hardback. Wh at is the purpose of law? Philosophers have debated this question over the centuries. "Wi t h o ut law, civilisation dies." This is a Jewish folk- saying and while it d o es not a n swer the question of the purpose of law, it nevertheless c o n v e ys the importance of law in the context of civilisation. Cicero in his treatise De Legibus (On the Laws), influenced by Aristotelian and Stoic doctrine, wrote in the year 52 BC that "law is the highest reason, implanted in nature, which c o mm a n ds wh at ought to be done, and forbids the opposite." E d m u n d B u r ke ( 1 7 2 9 - 1 7 9 7) w r o te in his Tracts on the Popery Laws that l aws, like h o u s e s, lean on o n e a n o t h e r. A c c o r d i n g l y, it is a p p r o p r i a te to r e f er civil l a w y e rs to a n o t h er c o d e of l aw. Wh a t is t he C o d e of C a n o n L a w ? T h e r e v i s ed C o d e of C a n o n L a w , p r o m u l g a t ed in 1983, is a f u n d a m e n t al l e g i s l a t i ve d o c u m e nt of t he " L a t in C h u r c h ", w h i ch is o n e of t he m a n y a u t o n o m o us c h u r c h es c o m p e t e nt to l e g i s l a te f or their o w n s u b j e c t s. F or t he first t i me in h i s t o r y, t he 1983 c o d e h a s b e en t r a n s l a t ed into t he v e r n a c u l ar - s u b j e ct to t he c l e ar u n d e r s t a n d i ng that t he o n ly o f f i c i al a nd b i n d i ng v e r s i on of t he c o d e is t he L a t in text. T h e C a n o n L a w S o c i e ty of G r e at B r i t a in a nd I r e l a nd ( r e s p o n s i b le f o r t he p u b l i c a t i on of this c o mm e n t a r y) p r o m o t es t he s t u dy of c a n on law in b o th its t h e o r e t i c al a s p e c ts a nd its p r a c t i c al a p p l i c a t i o n s. T h e c h a i r m an of t he e d i t o r i al b o a rd of this g u i de to t he C o d e of C a n o n L aw is Rt. R e v.

me r e ly to d r aw t he a t t e n t i on of i n t e r e s t ed l a wy e rs to a s u p e r b,

s c h o l a r ly a nd r e a d a b le c o mm e n t a r y, p a r t i c u l a r ly f or t h o se w h o w i sh to k n ow w h at C a n o n L a w really m e a n s.

Dr. Eamonn

G. Hall

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