Court in operation by next autumn

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said the new Court of Appeal, approved by voters in the referendum, would be up and running next autumn and cost up to €3m annually.

Welcoming the approval by voters who backed the new court by a majority of two to one in last week’s vote, Mr Shatter said it was a landmark decision.

Just over 65% of voters voted in favour of establishing the new court, the first structural change to Irish courts since 1937. Mr Shatter said the court would be up and running by the autumn of next year but that an establishment bill would need to be enacted to bring the court into effect.

He said officials would need to be appointed to the court and the sittings arranged and that it would be operational by October next year.

It is anticipated that there would be nine judges as well as a president of the court, said Mr Shatter.

The total valid poll was 1,240,135. There were 20,080 invalid votes and 1,220,055 valid. There were 795,008 in favour of the national poll and there were 425,047 against.

The referendum was brought about after lengthy delays in appeals before the Supreme Court, which many saw as unfair for families, as well as those whose sentences were under appeal. The average wait for non-priority cases at the Supreme Court is four years.

The no side had argued that the court would just lead to more jobs for judges and lawyers. However, proponents of the new appeal court have argued that its establishment will leave the Supreme Court free to concentrate on cases with Constitutional implications and matters of significant public interest.

The referendum had the support of all the major political parties.

The new court is expected to sit more regularly than the Court of Criminal Appeal.

The average turnout for the court of appeal referendum was almost 40%. Support for the court was more than 60% in 42 out of 43 constituencies.

Dublin South East saw the highest yes vote, with around three quarters of voters supporting for the new court.

There were also yes votes of over 70% in Dún Laoghaire and the constituency of Mr Shatter, Dublin South.

The Bar Council welcomed the vote in favour of establishing a Court of Appeal.

“This will help to clear the backlog of cases in the legal system, resulting in a faster, more cost efficient and effective manner of appealing decisions. This can only benefit litigants, businesses and our international reputation,” it said.