REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
| Published date | 01 June 1939 |
| Date | 01 June 1939 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1939.tb00747.x |
54
MODERN LAW REVIEW
June,
1939
death
duties)
to have had effect from the testator’s death as
if
it
had been
executed with the variations specified in the Order, and the Court may
make consequential directions for the purpose of giving effect to this order.
An office copy of the order is to be sent to the principal probate registry
and a memorandum of it is to be endorsed
on
the grant of representation.
Notwithstanding
s.
2,
after the expiration of the
6
months period
an application may be made for an order varying a previous order on the
ground of material non-disclosure or substantial change of circumstances,
or for an order making provision for the maintenance of another dependent,
but such an order can only relate to property the income of which is at
the date of the application applicable for the maintenance of a dependent.
For the purposes of the Act “son” and “daughter” include
a
legally
adopted or posthumous child. But an illegitimate child is not included.
The
Act, which
is
obviously of first-rate importance both legally and
socially, follows the same general lines as legislation in other parts of the
British Empire (for a comparative survey of the New Zealand legislation,
see
the note in Vol. I, p.
296)
and no doubt the principles enunciated in
the decisions of the Courts of the Dominions will be found useful by the
Courts
of this country. But
so
far
as
English Law is concerned, the Act
represents an entirely new development, and it differs from the correspond-
ing
legislation in the Dominions in
that
the discretion which
it
confers upon
the Court
is
very severely limited.
It
might have been better if the Legis-
lature had been prepared to place a little more trust in the common-sense,
fairness, and intelligence of the Judges; on the other hand, it must be
admitted that the attitude adopted by some judges towards certain recent
reforming legislation
is
not best qualified to encourage such trust.’ In any
case, the limitations imposed may have the desirable effect
of
securing
uniformity in the exercise of the discretion.
It
remains to be seen what
use will
be
made of the Act, what effect
it
will have on family life, and
whether it will result in a diminution of the most unpleasant actions to
set
aside
wills
on the grounds of insanity and undue influence or whether
it
will
add to or substitute for these another opportunity for washing
dirty linen in public.
The above is merely a summary of the provisions of the Act and the
reader is referred once more to the notes
in
Volume
I
and to the terms of
the Act itself.
REPORTS
OF
COMMITTEES
Report
by
the Committee
of
the
International
Chamber
of
Com-
merce
on
the
Legal
Treatment
of
Foreign
Companies
The business man’s most effective reply to a prohibitive
tar8
is to
produce behind the tarif€ wall, and mounting tariffs throughout the world
have resulted in the setting up of branches and subsidiaries of companies
in one country in the territories of foreign countries. “Tariff barriers,”
it has been said“, “have had the paradoxical effect of discouraging the
export of commodities only to stimulate the exportation of factories.”
This
trend has given enhanced importance to the question of the legal
1
On
the other hand, it is clearly the modem tendency
of
reforming legislation
to
confer a discretion (more
or
less limited)
on
the
Courts.
See also the Leasehold
Property (Repairs) Act, note! in
Modevn
Law
Review,
Vol.
11,
p.
160.
Fair
Play
for
Foreign Companies,”
World
Tvads,
Vol.
X,
No.
3,
p.
7.
1.
P.
Baudouin-Bugnet,
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