Cucumber Wars: Cucumber
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Law Society Gazette • Vol 105 No 7 Society Gazette • Vol Law Long-lost son Give us this day iba comes to town The emotive story of a Economic pressures must The IBA visits Dublin mother’s quest to find not be allowed to crush in advance of its annual her adopted son human rights protection conference next year Law Society Law GazetteGazette€3.75 aug/Sept 2011 aUG/SePt 2011 cUcUmber warS: Law Society of ireland the law on tortious liability for unsafe food BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR cover aug try3.indd 1 25/08/2011 12:25 PROCESS SERVING DOCUMENTS SERVED WITHIN 48 HOURS OR IT’S FREE Our promise is simple, if we do not successfully deliver your documents €148 within 48 hours it’s FREE. per serve) (+VAT WHY CHOOSE 48 HOURS? NO HOURLY RATES ANY ADDITIONAL FEES AGREED IN ADVANCE NO MILEAGE CHARGES SERVE ACROSS THE 32 COUNTIES OF IRELAND NO HIDDEN FEES COLLECTION SERVICE AVAILABLE FIXED FEE SERVICE LOCATING SERVICE AVAILABLE * 48 HOURS DELIVER OR NO CHARGE INTERNATIONAL SERVICE AVAILABLE* *Falls outside the 48Hrs promise. Terms & conditions apply, visit www.48hours.ie for details Call us on 1800 48 00 48 [email protected] www.48hours.ie Law Society Gazette www.gazette.ie Aug/Sept 2011 preSident’S meSSaGe 1 PeOPLe’S Welfare IS paramounT law “Salus populi suprema lex esto” – “Let the welfare of the detail, of the Society’s views people be the paramount law” on these matters. Further submissions are planned for n this theme of Cicero’s, I warmly welcome the early September. appointment of our new Chief Justice, Susan Denham. OShe will preside over our Supreme Court, which is New regulations approved the ultimate guardian of the legal rights of our citizens. She is On 15 July, the Law Society extremely well qualified in every way for the role and, on behalf Council approved new of the solicitors’ profession, I wish her every success in her regulations for the next new office. I also welcome and support her call for a Judicial professional indemnity Council and a Court of Appeal. insurance (PII) renewal on On her appointment, the Chief Justice said that the judiciary 1 December 2011. The had never opposed the holding of a referendum on judges’ pay. improvements include a She also mentioned that “Judges are very aware of the current common proposal form and a crisis as the effects of the financial storm come before our ‘special purpose fund’ to pay courts every day.” for run-off cover for firms Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has published proposals that meet certain criteria. “With these and other aimed at helping people to emerge from bankruptcy with a Insurers would recover changes in the PII Personal Insolvency Bill promised for next year. Hopefully this the costs of providing this can be fast-tracked when published. The Courts Service Annual run-off cover through the renewal process, it is Report 2010 reported a 71% increase in bankruptcies, and an general premia collected hoped that the next 11% increase in orders for possession in the High Court. from firms in practice. It is also intended that proposal renewal will be less Special general meeting forms would issue by the end painful, in every way, In relation to Law Society matters, I would like to thank all of August/early September, colleagues who attended and contributed at a packed special and quotations would remain than last year” general meeting on 30 June. The meeting began by discussing open for a period of at least the giving of undertakings by solicitors to financial institutions five working days. A prohibition would also be placed on in residential conveyancing. This was followed by a debate on qualified insurers asking firms for the premium level paid the the issues arising from solicitors acting on more than one side previous year. With these and other changes in the PII renewal in a conveyancing transaction. There were many contributors process, it is hoped that the next renewal will be less painful, in on both topics expressing a variety of views, which will be every way, than last year. forwarded to the two task forces deliberating on these issues at In relation to seminars, I initiated and helped to organise present. two separate fora for sole practitioners. In total, nearly 300 On 11 June, accompanied by director general Ken Murphy attended. I would, in particular, like to thank Attracta O’Regan and senior vice-president Donald Binchy, I met Minister of the Law School for her assistance in helping to make these Alan Shatter and three of his officials for over an hour to events so successful. discuss the proposed Legal Services Bill to be published at Finally, I am reminded of the words of Benjamin Sells in the end of September. We reiterated the position of the his book Order of the Court, where he says: “Around all the Society in relation to costs and regulation, as set out in the lawyer-bashing directed at the legal profession, perhaps the responses of the Law Society to the Competition Authority most hurtful is the charge that lawyers don’t stand for anything report, the Legal Costs Working Group and the Legal Costs anymore, but are only amoral tools, rudderless ships of Implementation Advisory Group a number of years ago. The advocacy… I want to say it is one thing to know about the law meeting was very useful and constructive and conducted in and another thing to become a lawyer, which I take to be a state an open and friendly atmosphere throughout. The Society of being and not only doing. I want being a lawyer to mean was asked to make further submissions and the director something.” general has, since then, met with officials to inform them, in We should remember these words in our daily practices. G John Costello President 2 contentS Law Society Gazette www.gazette.ie Aug/Sept 2011 Law Society Gazette Volume 105, number 7 Subscriptions: €57 Editor: Mark McDermott FIIC Deputy editor: Dr Garrett O’Boyle Designer: Nuala Redmond Society Law Editorial secretaries: Catherine Kearney, GazetteGazette Valerie Farrell Commercial advertising: Seán Ó hOisín, tel: 086 811 7116, ReGulaRS email: [email protected] 1 President’s message 55 One to watch: District Court (Civil For professional notice rates (wills, title deeds, Partnership and Cohabitation) Rules 2011 employment, miscellaneous), see page 66. 4 News 56 Regulation: Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal; order of the High Court Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, tel: 01 672 4828, fax: 01 672 4877. 14 Analysis 60 Justis update Email: [email protected] 14 News feature: The case of a mother’s 62 Eurlegal: europe’s great save for TV Website: www.gazette.ie quest to find her adopted son football; recent developments in european law Printing: Turner’s Printing Company Ltd, 16 News feature: The Fourth Report to the Longford Oireachtas on Child Protection 18 Human rights watch: national report on 66 Professional notices Editorial board: Michael Kealey (chairman), domestic human rights record Mark McDermott (secretary), Mairéad Cashman, 70 Recruitment advertising Paul Egan, Richard Hammond, Mary Keane, Aisling Kelly, Tracy Lyne, Patrick J McGonagle, 20 Comment 72 Captain’s blawg Ken Murphy, Andrew Sheridan 20 Letters 22 Viewpoint: economic pressures must not The Law Society of Ireland can accept be allowed to crush human rights protection no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine, and any views or opinions 45 People and places expressed are not necessarily those of the Law Society’s Council, save where otherwise 49 Obituary indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress James J Ivers occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in 50 Books this publication can be accepted by the 50 Book reviews: Equity and the Law of authors, contributors, editor or publishers. The editor reserves the right to make publishing Trusts in Ireland, Criminal Legislation in decisions on any advertisement or editorial Ireland and Corporate Crime article submitted to this magazine, and to 51 Reading room: e-resource packs on refuse publication or to edit any editorial popular legal topics material as seems appropriate to him. Professional legal advice should always be 52 Briefing sought in relation to any specific matter. 52 Practice notes 54 Legislation update: 10 June – 22 July 21 FSC independently certified wood and paper products used by the Law Society Gazette come from ecologically managed forests. Visit: www.fsc.org PEFC certifies that wood and paper products used by the Law Society Gazette are sourced by suppliers from sustainable, managed forests. Visit: www.pefc.org The Law Society Gazette is a full participating member of the Press Council of Ireland and M supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. R e s c ne This scheme, in addition to defending the free- ycl azi e Mag dom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to: www.pressom- budsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie. 46 47 Law Society Gazette www.gazette.ie Aug/Sept 2011 contentS 3 28 40 iba comes to town The IBA visits Dublin Give us this day in advance of its annual Economic pressures must conference next year Law Society Gazette • Vol 105 No 7 Long-lost son not be allowed to crush The emotive story of a human rights protection mother’s quest to find her adopted son €3.75 aug/Sept 2011 Law Society Law GazetteGazette coveR StoRy aUG/SePt 2011 24 Cucumber wars The German STeC 104 outbreak has shown that the possibility of a small, well-managed cUcUmber warS: food-producing unit single-handedly triggering Law Society of ireland the law on tortious liability BUSINESS TO BUSINESS for unsafe food MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 25/08/2011 12:25 a deadly pan-european public health incident is cover aug try3.indd 1 not confined to the imaginations of Hollywood scriptwriters.