The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

B O O K

R E V I E W S

the legal profession a major service by its production which has greatly enriched the sources of knowledge available to barris- ters and solicitors in this area. Well done! Thomas D Shaw •

Textbook on Jurisprudence, Second Edition, 1996

By Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D White, Blackstone Press, £15.95. Jurisprudence is a word that stinks in the nostrils of a practising barrister, so wrote Albert V Dicey (1835-1922), a jurist and barrister. Dicey had developed an expertise in revenue cases. In fact, he appeared for the Revenue in a complex case in his eightieth year, despite his deafness which had forced him to resign the Vinerian Professorship four years earlier after a tenure of 27 years. But Dicey had remarkable intellectual powers. The "stinking" remark must be taken in the context of his advice to students: "It is better to be flippant than dull." Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in his Path of the law (1897) noted that jurisprudence was sometimes undervalued "by the practical minded" - something of an understatement. But the judge was correct when he stated that jurisprudence is simply law in its most general part. The authors of this book write of law in the context of broad rules and of the law's most fundamental concepts. This book provides a clear, user-friendly, analysis of the major theories and controversies of jurisprudence of our time. It starts by examining the nature of jurisprudence and then proceeds to outline the contents, implications and problems of the major legal theories. The second edition has been expanded to include new material on feminist legal theory, the economic analysis of law and the concept of injustice. Those interested in the study of law will find in this book an abundance of authoritative and readable information.

Pictured at the launch of The Licencing Acts 1833-1995 in Irish Distillers are Constance Cassidy, author, and Minister for Justice, Nora Owen, TD, who was the special guest speaker at the launch.

which is easy to follow and comprehend.

The Licensing Acts 1833 to 1995

I was particularly taken by the chapter on "Duties of the Solicitor" which gives every practitioner a comprehensive check list of the traps which are waiting for the un- wary; by the extensive lists of precedents which are so invaluable and which save endless hours of research and drafting; and by the table of offences under the Licensing Acts with the sub-division as to the penalties which can be imposed and whether the offences constitute an endors- able offence. The background research and dedicated compilation of such an impress- ive book is little short of staggering. However, this falls into place when one considers that the author is a daughter and follows in the foot-steps of her distinguished father, the late Judge John Cassidy of the Western Circuit, who was the expert in licensing laws in his time. By the provision of this magnificent work, the author is rapidly stepping into his distinguished shoes. Without question, this book is already the authentic text book to which the current legal profession and the future students of the law will refer. The author has rendered

By Constance Cassidy. Publisher: Round Hall Sweet & Maxwell. Price: £150.00; 1001 pp; Year: 1996. For years, the Licensing Laws have been a nightmare for solicitors. They are so complex that it has always been a major source of concern to practitioners that an error can prove so fundamental that the consequences to the client as well as the solicitor can be disastrous. With the publication of her excellent text book, Constance Cassidy has provided the legal profession with a complete comprehensive review of all current legislation extensively cross referenced with all known decided cases which gives the hard-pressed practitioner an immediate answer to any question which might arise.

As such, this book is a must for any solicitor's office which makes any

pretension to practice law in this area. The text is written in a clear and lucid style and the salient points are made in a manner

Dr Eamonn G Hall

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