Compensation cap rise set to increase number of civil cases without juries

THE number of civil cases heard without juries is set to rise steeply following a significant raising of the cap on compensation in the District and Civil courts.

In future, cases involving claims worth up to €20,000 will be heard in the District Court and claims up to €100,000 in the Circuit Court. Currently the value of claims each court can handle is capped at £5,000 (€6,350) and £30,000 (€38,100) respectively.

Those limits were set in 1991 and even though legislation was introduced to increase them in 2002, the changes were not made. A Government-appointed advisory group said yesterday the higher limits should be implemented immediately.

The only exception relates to personal injury cases which the group said should remain subject to the current limits for a further period until there is a clearer picture of the full impact of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, which was set up to try to keep personal injury claims out of the courts entirely. Typical examples of cases that will be subject to the new limits are claims for defamation, breach of contract, damage to property, or back payment of rent in the case of landlord-tenant disputes.

The Legal Costs Implementation Advisory Group, whose recommendations have been accepted by the Minister for Justice, said there had been concerns in the past that to increase the limits overnight would be a “shock to the system.”

However it added: “The IAG is of the view that no sound reason has been advanced to freeze the jurisdictional limits indefinitely.” It said limit increases provided for in 2002 should be implemented “forthwith”.

The changes will mean a greater workload for the District and Circuit Courts, which already handle the bulk of the country’s legal cases. They will also result in less involvement by juries and greater influence for judges as claims made in the civil claims are decided by judges alone.

It is not clear if additional resources will be made available to the lower courts to deal with the changes.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said yesterday 14 extra judges would be appointed this week and three existing vacancies would be filled, but it has not been announced to which courts the judges will be assigned.

In a further change recommended by the IAG, the value of cases allowed before the Small Claims Court is to be increased from €2,000 to €3,000. The IAG said Mr McDowell should also consider expanding the range of case types that could be brought before the court.