The civil liabilities acts' (3rd Ed.) (Thomson Round Hall, 2005) Anthony Kerr

• Author: Aoife O'Donoghue
• Position: B.C.L., LL.M., Lecturer, Faculty of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway
• Pages: 260-264

Judicial Studies Institute Journal [6:1

260

BOOK REVIEW

“THE CIVIL LIABILITIES ACTS” (3rd Ed.)

(Thomson Round Hall, 2005)

Anthony Kerr

AOIFE O’DONOGHUE

Civil Liability is one of the most case-laden domains of the

common law. Personal injury claims have become part of what is

now considered to be our litigious culture; a phenomenon which

has seen much discussion over the past 10 years, both in the

media and in academic discourse.1 The overwhelming volume of

litigation over the past twenty years and the consequential

increase in insurance premiums have led to some recent reform of

this area. This is manifested in the Personal Injuries Assessment

Board Act in 2003, which was part of the reform that was seen as

necessary to change the culture that is seen as being now

ingrained in our society. It was also an attempt by the government

to reduce costs and, thus, the insurance bills that have been

rocketing recently. Over the past 45 years, the Civil Liability Act

has been the central focus of development of the law in this area

and clear guidance on how the Act has been interpreted and used

by the courts is a necessity if any future reform is to be carried

out. This seems to be the author’s objective in the newest edition

of The Civil Liabilities Acts.

The need for clear guidance in this area of the law is

evident. As the myriad of cases has added to the already complex

statute and its amendments, the complexity and the need for

assistance in ascertaining the current position of the law is

obvious. This would be of use to the student, the academic, the

practitioner and the judge. It seems particularly useful for the

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 B.C.L., LL.M., Lecturer, Faculty of Law, National University of Ireland,

Galway.

1 “‘Compensatitis’ is our worst disease,” The Irish Times, 11 December 1997;

“Law Society proposes the use of a scale of damages for injury awards,” The

Irish Times, 19 October 2002. See also Nugent, “Reform of Personal Injuries

Actions,” (1997) 2 (8) Bar Review 365.