Law Society of Ireland

Lobbying Organisation Law Society of Ireland

Date published 21 Sep, 2016

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 May, 2016 to 31 Aug, 2016

Specific Details Amendment to the Land and Conveyancing Act 2009

Intended results Clarification and certainty in respect of deposit monies paid by the purchaser in a conveyancing transaction.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Ken Murphy, Director General of the Law Society of Ireland.

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (1)

The matter raised relates to the judgement in 'In the Matter of Protim Abrasives Limited and the Companies Acts 1963 - 2009 (2009 No 510 COS); whereby it was held that a deposit provided by the purchaser and held by the solicitor for the vendor as agent, should be paid to the liquidator of the vendor company. The Society is of the view that this is at variance with the universal understanding of profession as to the basis on which a deposit is held by the vendor's solicitor when returned with the signed contract by the purchasers solicitor. The Society submitted a draft amendment to the 2009 Act. Arguments supporting its adoption were made on the basis of: - Consumer Protection - Unjust enrichment of liquidator - Original purpose of deposit - Implications for Ireland's reputation as a place to do business.

Submission (1)

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Frances Fitzgerald Minister (Department of Justice and Equality)