Christopher Palles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher Palles QC (December 25, 1831 – February 14, 1920) was an Irish barrister and judge.

Educated at Clongowes Wood College and Trinity College, Dublin (from where he graduated in 1852), he was called to the Irish bar in 1853. He became Queen's Counsel (Q.C.) in 1865. In 1872, he was briefly Solicitor General for Ireland. Appointed on February 6, 1872, he was succeeded by Hugh Law, November 18, 1872. Palles was appointed Attorney General for Ireland in that year and made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. In 1874 he was made chief baron of the Court of Exchequer. The Exchequer division was in 1898 merged in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland. From that time the chief baron sat as one of the judges of the Queen's Bench division, and also as a judge of appeal. Palles retired from the bench in 1916 and died in Dublin in 1920. A collection of Palles' papers is available at University College, Dublin.

[edit] Legal citations

Palles' judgments are commonly cited to this day. Dillon v. O’Brien and Davis [1887] 20 LR IR 300 has been cited in Braddish -v- D.P.P. [2001] IESC 45 [1] and McGrath -v- DPP & Bowes -v- DPP [2003] IESC 9. [2] Bell v. the Great Northern Railway Company of Ireland (1890) 26 LR Ir 428 was cited in Fletcher -v- Commissioner of Public Works in Ireland [2003] IESC 13. [3] Herron -v- Rathmines and Rathgar Improvement Commissioners 27 LR Ir 179 was referred to in Crilly & Farrington -v- Eastern Health Board [2001] IESC 60. [4] Williamson v. Rover Cycle Company (1901) 2 IR 615 was discussed by the Supreme Court in O'Mahony -v- Tyndale [2001] IESC 62. [5] McGrath v Bourne (1876) I.R. 10 C.L. 160 was considered in Rossiter (A Minor) -v- Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council [2001] IESC 85 [6] and Gough -v- Neary [2003] IESC 39. [7] Cox v. Dublin City Distillery (No. 2) [1915] 1 IR 345 was mentioned in Carroll -v- The Law Society of Ireland [2003] IESC 1. [8] Palles C.B.'s "[f]amous" definition of "public bar" (deriving from Quinn v. Bourke [1906] 2 I.R. 94 at 97) was cited in Ampleforth Ltd t/a The Fitzwilliam Hotel -v- Cherating Ltd [2003] IESC 27. A case in which Palles C.B. was a member of the Irish Court of Appeal (The National Bank v. Cullen [1894] 2 I.R. 683) was cited in Smyth -v- Tunney [2004] IESC 24. Palles C.B.'s analysis of the case law relating to the part performance doctrine under the Statute of Frauds was mentioned in Dakota Packaging Ltd -v- AHP Manufacturing BV Trading As Wyeth Medica Ltd [2004] IESC 102. [9]

On March 18th 2005, two judges of the High Court cited judgments of Palles C.B., in Mitchell v Ireland [2005] IEHC 102 (Cox v. Dublin City Distillery (No. 2) [1915] 1 I.R. 345)[10] Honniball -v- Cunningham [2005] IEHC 91 (McDonagh v. Davis [1875] I.R. 9 CL 300) respectively [11]. Hegarty v Shine 2 L.R.I. 273, and 4 L.R.I. 288 was cited by the President of the High Court in Anderson v Cooke [2005] IEHC 221.[12] Keogh v. Dental Hospital [1910] I.R. at p. 166 was cited in Byrne & Anor v Radio Telefís Éireann [2006] IEHC 71. Stephenson v. Weir 4 LR. Ir. 369, decided in 1879, was referred to in December 2006 in Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland -v- Hanley [2006] IEHC 405.[13]

[edit] External links

• Palles papers

Legal offices
Preceded by Richard Dowse	Solicitor General for Ireland 1872	Succeeded by Hugh Law
	Attorney General for Ireland 1872–1873