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Exclusive Interview with the New DPP Claire Loftus LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE LAW Mammoth task A little knowledge To boldly go The results of the Law The implications of Fundamental changes Society’s survey of the Mahon Tribunal for in the EU’s data members on PII issues corporate governance protection regime • Vol 106 No 5 • Vol LAW SOCIETY LAW GAZETTEGAZETTE€4.00 June 2012 JUNE 2012 The director’S CUT Law Society of Ireland Exclusive interview with the new DPP Claire Loftus cover june.indd 1 30/05/2012 21:54 HALF DAY CONFERENCE Regulatory Reform for a 21st Century Legal Profession to be held on Friday 6th July 2012 at the Conrad Hotel, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 PROGRAMME AND SPEAKERS Chair: Professor Sandeep Gopalan, Professor of Law and Head of Dept. of Law, NUI Maynooth. 09.00 Registration and coffee. 09.30 Mr. Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice, Equality & Defence. 10.00 Professor Colin Scott, Dean of Law, University College Dublin. 10.45 Coffee Break 11.00 Mr. Steve Mark, Legal Services Commissioner, State of New South Wales, Australia. 11.30 Mr. Chris Kenny, Chief Executive, Legal Services Board for England & Wales. 12.00 Questions & Answers Session 13.00 Closing of Conference Places are limited, so to register please email: [email protected]. CPD points will be awarded for attendance. Hackett Legal Support • Dedicated service to the legal profession • Rapid response to meet crucial deadlines • Experienced with sensitive, fragile and oversized documents Hacketts provide a full range of litigation and document management solutions with the flexibility of service needed to cope with any size project to any tight deadline. Services range from large scale litigation support projects through to basic reprographics. Reprographic services: Technology services: •Photocopying – b/w & colour •Scanning to Tiff and PDF •Binding and finishing •Electronic transaction bibles •Re-construction of originals •Litigation support services •Large format – b/w & colour including coding, software •24/7 working consultancy & electronic disclosure •Free collection and delivery •Web Review and Hosting within designated areas Dublin Dun Laoghaire Cork Limerick 01 676 0301 01 230 3000 021 427 4014 061 468 690 www.jdh.ie Colum McNally Colum McNally Brian O’Loughlin Damien Morgan Law Society Gazette www.gazette.ie June 2012 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 1 FINDING EQUILIBRIUM here being no recent developments in relation to the That must surely be a matter Legal Services Regulation Bill, it makes for a pleasant for the executive, but it is Tchange to be able to write about something else in this obviously no easy task, and the message: Blackhall Place has, in the last short while, hosted problem is compounded in the three very different events, each of which was hugely successful internet age by reason of the and enjoyable. fact that different countries will The first of these was the Brown-Mosten client arrive at different solutions. consultation competition, an event that has its origins in It seems to me that it is the US going back to 1969. From humble origins as an more than a little bit disturbing international competition in 1985, when three countries that there is so little debate or participated, the competition has grown over the years. In discussion about the effect of “It is more than a all, 22 teams from educational institutions all over the world social media or technology, participated in this year’s event in Blackhall Place – the first generally, on the right to little bit disturbing time that it has been held in the Republic of Ireland. privacy. A recent, very well- that there is so The event ran over four days, with New Zealand the written article in the Irish eventual winners, followed by joint runners-up, China and Independent, headed ‘The little debate or Germany. It was a great honour for the organisers to bring the death of privacy’, highlighted discussion about competition to Ireland and great credit is due to Jane Moffatt the need to debate what privacy of the Law School for all the work she and her colleagues did should mean in today’s world. I the effect of social in arranging the event. hope that the Law Society may media or technology, promote debate on the issue by generally, on the Shifting the balance organising a conference on the The second event was the Annual Human Rights Lecture, held subject later in the year. right to privacy” at Blackhall Place on 10 May, which we were honoured to have delivered to us by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Calcutta Run Sir Declan Morgan. Sir Declan delivered a very stimulating The final event to which I wish to refer is, of course, the and topical speech on the subject of ‘Finding the equilibrium’. Calcutta Run, which took place in Blackhall Place on 26 He spoke about how the incorporation of significant elements May. For a change, the weather conditions were perfect, with of the European Convention of Human Rights into domestic law beautiful sunshine and a nice cooling breeze. More than 900 in Northern Ireland has caused a change in the relationship people took part. It is hoped to raise over €130,000 on behalf between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. He of the two charities who benefit from the event, namely GOAL said: “It has inevitably shifted the balance between us, and each and the Peter McVerry Trust. of us must now try to identify how we achieve our point of I need hardly say that I am fully aware that these are very equilibrium.” straitened times, but if you can make a donation – if you have In a fascinating talk, he traced the history of the not already done do – it is still not too late. Donations can be development of administrative law in Northern Ireland sent to: Calcutta Run, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, through judicial review, and the impact of the Human Rights Dublin 7. Cheques should be made out to ‘The Calcutta Run’. Act 1998. More than 100 people are involved in organising this event and In looking at how the courts have responded to the I would like to thank them for giving of their valuable time to challenges created by the 1998 act, he analysed, among other ensure its success. things, very recent case law surrounding the development Each of these three very different events highlights what a of the right to privacy, including the now notorious ‘super wonderful resource we have in Blackhall Place and how it can injunctions’ cases. Inevitably, these cases led to the question: be used to promote knowledge, justice and collegiality within who determines public policy on privacy? the profession. Well done to all concerned. G Donald Binchy President 2 CONTENTS Law Society Gazette www.gazette.ie June 2012 Law Society Gazette Volume 106, number 5 Subscriptions: €60/€90 Editor: Mark McDermott FIIC Deputy editor: Dr Garrett O’Boyle Art director: Nuala Redmond SOCIETY LAW Editorial secretaries: Catherine Kearney, GAZETTEGAZETTE Valerie Farrell Commercial advertising: Seán Ó hOisín, tel: 086 811 7116, REGULARS email: [email protected] 4 News 55 One to watch: Social Welfare and For professional notice rates (wills, title deeds, Pensions Act 2012 employment, miscellaneous), see page 61. 56 Regulation 12 Analysis 57 Justis update Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, 12 News feature: The recent PII survey tel: 01 672 4828, fax: 01 672 4877. results suggest that the future may not 58 Eurlegal: New EU data protection Email: [email protected] be so grim proposals; recent developments in Website: www.gazette.ie 16 Human rights watch: Diverting people European law Printing: Turner’s Printing Company Ltd, with mental-health problems away from Longford the criminal justice system 61 Professional notices Editorial board: Michael Kealey (chairman), 19 Comment 63 Recruitment advertising Mark McDermott (secretary), Mairéad Cashman, 19 Letters Paul Egan, Richard Hammond, Mary Keane, 64 Captain’s blawg Aisling Kelly, Tracy Lyne, Patrick J McGonagle, 20 Viewpoint: Part 2 of Lord David Ken Murphy, Andrew Sheridan Puttnam’s speech on justice and the citizens’ interests to the Law Society’s annual The Law Society of Ireland can accept conference no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine, and any views or opinions 46 People and places expressed are not necessarily those of the Law Society’s Council, save where otherwise 50 Student spotlight indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress occasioned to any person acting or refraining 52 Books from acting as a result of the material in 52 Book reviews: Contempt of Parliament, this publication can be accepted by the Irish Family Law Handbook and The Law authors, contributors, editor or publishers. The editor reserves the right to make publishing of Personal Injuries decisions on any advertisement or editorial 53 Reading room: Updates from the article submitted to this magazine, and to Law Society Library refuse publication or to edit any editorial material as seems appropriate to him. 54 Briefing Professional legal advice should always be 54 Practice notes sought in relation to any specific matter. 55 Legislation update: 6 April – 8 May 2012 64 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.
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