Book Reviews
Ombudsman for American Government ? Edit6 par Stanley V. Anderson.
($4.95,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1968. Pp. vii, 181.
Paper $1.95).
Ce livre, 6dit6 par Stanley V. Anderson,’ est compos6 de cinq
essais destin6s A servir de documents pr6paratoires A la 326me ses-
sion de
L’origine et les progrfs de ]a notion de
pass6s en revue par le professeur Donald C. Rowat 3 et l’6num~ration
des pays, provinces et m~me organisations internationales qui ont
atteint l’un des stades allant de ]a suggestion A l’6tablissement de
la fonction d’
actuel de l’id6e.4
Le professeur William B. Gwyn 5 met ensuite en lumibre les pro-
blames de l’adaptation de l’institution au milieu am6ricain qui pr6-
sente une population consid6rablement plus nombreuse et moins
homog~ne que les quatres pays scandinaves et la Nouvelle-Z6lande
oii des ombudsmen fonctionnent depuis un temps suffisamment long
pour appr6cier les r6sultats de leur office.
La cr6ation 6ventuelle de la fonction au niveau des 6tats et au
niveau local est examin6e respectivement par les professeurs John
E. Moore,0 d’une part, et William E. Angus et Milton Kaplan,7
d’autre part.
Enfin, les suggestions et politiques A suivre sont formul6es par
le professeur Anderson et le livre est compl6t6 par un module de
1 Professeur associ6 de sciences politiques A l’Universit6 de Californie, Santa
Barbara; Auteur de Canadian Ombudsman Proposals, (Berkeley, 1966).
2 1nstitution affilide h l’Universit6 de Columbia, organise des rdunions non
politiques et publie des 6tudes concernant des problhmes vitaux de la vie
politique des Etats-Unis.
3 Professeur de sciences politiques A l’Universit6 Carleton, Ottawa; auteur
de The Ombudsman: Citizen’s Defender, (London, 1965).
4 Depuis la parution du livre, le projet de Loi du Protecteur du Citoyen a 6t6
(Bill 13, troisibme sess.,
ddposd devant les chambres 1gislatives du Qu6bec
28e L6gislature).
5 Professeur associ6 de sciences politiques A l’Universit
6 Professeur assistant de sciences politiques h l’Universit6 de Californie,
de Tulane.
Santa Barbara.
7 Professeurs de droit A l’Universit6 de l’Etat de New York, Buffalo.
No. 3]
BOOK REVIEW
loi 6tablissant l’office d’<
professeur Walter Gellhorn.8
La r6ponse A la question pos6e par le titre du livre, telle qu’elle
se d6gage des diff6rents essais et des conclusions, est affirmative.
Les auteurs, comme d’ailleurs
rent favorables A l’tablissement d’ombudsmen au niveau des 6tats
et au niveau local. L’opportunit d’instaurer un tel service A l’6chelon
f6d6ral semble plus douteuse.
Cette conclusion est fond~e sur des arguments dont les quelques
points faibles sont signal6s avec la plus grande objectivit6.
Les exp6riences des divers services des administrations gouver-
nementales charges des relations avec le public et des quelques
organismes existants, bas6s sur le principe de 1′<< ombudsman>>, tels
que le
de l’universit6 de Buffalo, ont montr6, A l’6vidence, le besoin qu’6prou-
ve le public de se plaindre des insuffisances de l’administration.
I n’est pas absolument certain, par contre, que 1′<
offre le meilleur remade A ce besoin car tr~s peu de recherches ont
6t6 effectu6es dans le domaine des procedures de plaintes et r6cla-
mations contre l’administration gouvernementale existant aux Etats-
Unis et ailleurs.
L’6tude m6thodique des services mis sur pied par les adminis-
trations elles-mgmes, certains journaux ou encore le <
des membres des assemblies l~gislatives mobiliserait une arm6e de
chercheurs.
Aussi les auteurs se demandent-ils, au vu des r6sultats atteints
par les <
sisteraient pas A faire l’essai de l’institution.
Une telle conclusion n’est pas sans susciter un premier sentiment
de frustration chez le lecteur habitu6 A voir se succ~der les arguments
en faveur ou A l’encontre d’une r6forme sociale avec une conviction
qui ne laisse aucune place h l’incertitude.
Mais les auteurs soulignent, A plusieurs reprises, qu’il ne s’agit
justement pas d’une r6forme sociale, d’une panache qui r~soudra
les grands probl~mes de la soci~t6 am6ricaine, la discrimination, la
pauvret6, etc… Le r~le de l’ <
redresser les erreurs et injustices administratives, A 6claircir les
S Professeur de droit a l’Universit6 de Columbia; auteur de deux livres sur
le sujet: When Americans Complain, (Cambridge, Mass., 1066) et Ombudsmen
and Others, (Cambridge, Mass., 1967).
9 Final Report of the Thirty-Second American Assembly, October 26-29, 1967,
(New York, 1967), pp. 6 et 7.
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 14
malentendus dont l’effet est, sans doute, vital pour l’individu int~resse
mais dont la portde g~n~rale est, le plus souvent, assez faible.
Enfin, les auteurs ont insist6 sur les conditions du succs de
l’entreprise. Ii n’est gu~re surprenant qu’elles soient sensiblement
analogues A celles qui ont permis la crdation et le bon fonction-
nement des quelques instances internationales qui regoivent
les
pdtitions individuelles, tels que, par exemple, la Commission Euro-
p~enne des Droits de l’Homme: consensus plus ou moins g~n6ral
lors de l’6tablissement de l’organe, modes de nomination, de r6mu-
n6ration et de contr~le assurant l’ind6pendance de la personne nom-
m6e, haute compdtence de cette derni&re et, enfin, l’6coulement d’un
laps de temps suffisant pour permettre A l’institution de faire ses
preuves.
Sans entrer dans les d6tails des pouvoirs et fonctions de I’<
sition du projet de loi relatif A l’6tablissement d’un <
dans l’Etat de Massachussetts: la mise A jour d’une nomenclature
de toutes les commissions d’appel et agences similaires destin~e A
6tre mise A la disposition des personnes int6ress6es sur leur requite.
Il s’agirait lA, ainsi que le sigmale le professeur Anderson, d’un
genre de service d’assistance l6gale dans le domaine administratif.’0
Dl est dommage qu’une mesure aussi utile ne soit pas pr6vue dans
le projet qu6becois.
Pour conclure, il est rdconfortant de noter qu’un sujet aussi com-
plexe, envisag6 sous des angles diff6rents par des auteurs diff6rents
ait 6t6 trait6 avec une dconomie de mots et une unit6 d’ensemble
6galement remarquables.
E. GROFFIER:
* Candidate pour le doctorat en droit civil i l’Universit6 McGill.
1op. 157.
No. 3]
BOOK REVIEW
Der Weltraum in der Raunmordnung des V6lkerrechts. By Peter-Michael
Sontag. Cologne, Berlin, Bonn and Munich: Carl Heymanns Verlag. 1966. Pp. 372.
($7.50).
Raunfahrt und V6kerrcht. By Peter Creola. Zfurich: Polygraphischer Verlag.
1967. Pp. 129. ($4.50).
These two books on space law – both written as doctoral theses –
have recently been published in German-speaking countries. Both
authors have put the legal problems of space exploration into the
framework of existing public international law. This is in the
reviewer’s opinion the only scholarly method which helps to dis-
tinguish between lex lata and lex ferend. Since most of the existing
publications on space law fall short of this important distinction,
the two new studies represent a valuable contribution to and analysis
of the fast growing law of outer space.
Sontag presents a thorough study of all legal problems with
regard to outer space. His book constitutes the first comprehensive
juridical analysis of this kind which has been written in the German
language. The only relevant book written in German which had been
available prior to Sontag’s publication was a book written by Fasan.
Fasan’s book, however, had been written from a popular educational
point of view rather than in an academic manner.
In Part I Sontag analyses the principle of state sovereignty in
air space, the principle of freedom in outer space, the meaning and
extension of this freedom, and the problem in drawing a border line
between air space and outer space. According to Sontag, the legal
r6gime of outer space has a tendency to become really supranational
(“zu einer echten supranotionalen Rechtsmaterie werden”).’ This
statement appears to be a little too optimistic. The upmost we can
hope for is an international organization for outer space with some
regulatory competences comparable with those of the specialized
agencies of the United Nations. Such an international agency would
–
be an international organization without any supra-
national attributes. One may add that there are some voices inside
and outside the United Nations favouring the creation of a specialized
agency for oceanography and outer space. This is due to the fact
in any case –
‘ At p. 185.
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 14
that many of the problems involving the exploration of both media
are quite similar in their technical and legal aspects.
In Sontag’s analysis of the various theories for the delimination
of air space 2 one misses a discussion of Professor Mateesco Matte’s
writings. Prof. Matte is one of the most outspoken advocates of a
uniform legal rdgime for space vehicles in both air space and outer
space.
The legal status of celestial bodies is discussed in Part II. Un-
fortunately, Sontag’s thesis was published prior to the adoption of
the <
the rules as laid down in this treaty. But even so, Sontag’s con-
siderations are still valuable and worth reading, especially because
they relate to already existing general international law, while the
new treaty constitutes mainly treaty law and not yet general inter-
national law.
In Part III Sontag presents a study of the legal status of satellites
and space vehicles. The value of Sontag’s most scholarly written
book is enhanced by a comprehensive bibliography of 20 pages,
and a subject index.
In contrast to Sontag’s comprehensive study, Creola’s much less
legal
voluminous book contains a discussion of certain selected
problems of outer space.
In Part I Creola gives an introductory review of space exploration.
He explains the medium <
exploration, and the beginning of space law. Creola discusses the
legal r6gime in air space and outer space and presents the various
theories for the delimination of air space. The reviewer agrees with
the author’s conclusion that it does not seem advisable to adopt at
this early stage of space exploration a convention on the delimination
of air space and outer space.3
In Part II the author discusses the following topics : the principle
of freedom of space exploration, the limitations of this freedom, and
international co-operation in outer space. In connection with the
bilateral international agreements, 4 Creola should also have discussed
2 Especially at pp. 209 et seq.
3 See pp. 59 et seq.
4 At p. 102.
No. 3]
BOOK REVIEW
the Soviet programmes with their Molnya telecommunication satel-
lites in which the East European countries and –
to a certain
even France are participating. Pages 108 to 123 are de-
degree –
voted to speculations on possible relations with extraterrestrial
beings. Finally, in the Annex, the “Treaty of Principles” on outer
space is reprinted.
It is hoped that both volumes will achieve a wide circulation and
stimulate further discussion of legal problems relating to the ex-
ploration of outer space. For Sontag’s excellent study, one may even
hope for a translation into English.
Dr. Jochen ERLE*
* Associate Professor, .Chapman College, California.
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 14
Studies in Canadian Company Law. Edited by Jacob Ziegel. Toronto: Butter-
worths. 1967. Pp. xlii, 717. ($22.50).
Under the editorship of Professor Ziegel of the McGill Law
Faculty, twenty-one distinguished members of the legal profession
in Canada have contributed to this collection of essays destined, I
should imagine, to become a standard reference work both for the
student and for the practising lawyer. Most of the contributions are
in English; some are in French. The contributors include representa-
tives of most of the Canadian provinces and their contributions
cover most of the problem areas in Canadian company law. The
majority of the contributors are professors at Canadian law schools
but others are active practitioners and both groups appear here at
their best. The professors do not bore the reader with esoteric
abstractions and the practitioners do not insult him with routine
trivia.
Company law in Canada is currently undergoing a series of
important developments. These developments, most clearly discerni-
ble in the Province of Ontario, are concerned chiefly with the situa-
tion of the investor, actual or potential. Trading by insiders, proxy
solicitations, takeover bids, financial statements, prospectuses –
all
these matters are increasingly subject to detailed legislation de-
signed to protect the presumably naive against the presumably crafty.
However, such legislation does not imply that the classic problems
of company law, compounded in Canada by two distinct systems
of incorporation and by a distribution of powers between the
central authority and the provinces, have been solved, either by
the legislators or by the courts. The ultra vires doctrine, the in-
door management rule, the powers and duties of directors, the law
of dividends, the rights of minority shareholders –
each of these
to present problems requiring the attention of
topics continues
every lawyer and law student. One of the merits of Studies in Ca-
nadian Company Law is that it focuses on these problems without
neglecting the more recently fashionable areas of company law.
The ultra vires doctrine is dealt with at some length by E. G.
Mockler of the University of New Brunswick, and Melville Neu-
man’s essay on the differences between letters patent and certifi-
cate of incorporation companies contains several pages on the same
subject. Daniel B. Prentice of the University of Western Ontario
contributes a careful study of the indoor management rule, supple-
No. 3]
BOOK REVIEW
mented here again, by Mr. Neuman’s essay. E. E. Palmer of the
University of Western Ontario discusses the powers and duties of
directors and R. M. Bryden of the University of Saskatchewan dis-
cusses the law of dividends. The position of the minority shareholder
is the subject of the longest essay in the book, an analysis of Foss
v. Harbottle I by Stanley M. Beck of Osgoode Hall Law School, and
is also dealt with by Marc Gigu~re of the University of Laval and
by Stuart G. Mackinnon of the University of Ottawa. Chapters on
Quebec corporation law are contributed by Roger L. Beaulieu, Q.C.,
and by Yves Caron of McGill.
The more current corporate law problems have also been confided
to experts. Philip F. Vineberg, Q.C., contributes a comprehensive
explanation of income and estate tax considerations, supplemented
by an essay by J. Thomas English, of the University of British
Columbia, on the tax factors in corporate acquisitions. Harry S.
Bray, Q.C., of the Ontario Securities Commission, deals with recent
developments in securities administration in Ontario. J. Peter Wil-
liamson (the author of Securities Regulation in Canada 2) discusses
mutual funds and Edwin C. Harris of Dalhousie University dis-
cusses access to corporate information.
The foregoing paragraphs do not purport to list all the matters
covered in Studies in Canadian Company Law. Rather, they list
those chapters which at least one practitioner has found himself
referring to and re-reading on specific points after first browsing
through the book upon its publication some months ago. The other
chapters include a discussion of the nature of corporate personality
by David H. Bonham and Daniel A. Soberman, a pre-Confederation
history of corporations by F. E. LaBrie and (again) E. E. Palmer,
a study of pre-incorporation contracts by Francis J. Nugan and an
extended examination of the constitutional aspects of Canadian com-
panies by Professor Ziegel himself. The concluding chapter, by J. E.
Smyth, Professor of Commerce at the University of Toronto, is en-
titled The Social Implications of Incorporation and constitutes an
engrossing study in itself and a fitting close to the book.
To comment in any detail on the substance of a book such as
this would be presumptuous. There is undoubtedly room for disa-
greement with some of the positions taken by some of the contribu-
tors and perhaps with the emphasis given to certtain aspects of the
law. However, anyone disagreeing must be prepared to face an im-
pressive array of arguments and authorities.
1 (1843), 2 Hare 461, 67 E.R. 189.
2 (Toronto, 1960).
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 14
To attempt, by quotation, to give the flavour of a book with 21
authors, would be ridiculous. Let it be said merely that, despite
frequent citations of applicable laws and a table of cases over
twenty-five pages long, the material is presented throughout in
synthesized fashion and not as a bald recital of legislative provi-
sions nor a dry series of judicial decisions. A certain amount of
overlapping is, of course, inevitable, and indeed constitutes one of
the assets of the book; to watch, for example, Mr. Mockler, Mr.
Neuman and Mr. Beaulieu each handle the ultra vires doctrine in
his own way can be most instructive. On the other hand, very few
important areas remain uncovered. Corporate financing is one of
these and perhaps that lack can be remedied in future editions.
The editor, in his preface, states:
… there are now over a dozen fulltime Canadian law teachers with major
interests in company law and their services have been freely employed
in recent legislative studies at both the provincial and federal levels. This
is not to -ay that the subject has attained intellectual maturity in our
country. Much, very much, remains to be done, and this is to some extent
reflected in our continuing preoccupation with old problems (such as the
doctrine of ultra vires) which should long ago have been resolved by
properly drafted legislation. A modest beginning appears, however, to
have been made.
Studies in Canadian Company Law is considerably more than
a modest beginning.
Gerald McCARTHY *
* Of the Bar of the Province of Quebec.
