Court system under review

The first thorough investigation of the courts system since soon after the foundation of the State was being advanced in Dublin today.

A working group established earlier this year was staging a two-day conference to look into the operation of the courts and assess whether or not their present structure is delivering justice efficiently and economically.

The last time such a complete probe of the Irish courts was held was in 1923, and a subsequent report led to the establishment a year later of a court set-up that has remained basically unchanged since that date.

Today’s conference opening was being chaired by Irish Chief Justice Ronan Keane and scheduled to hear contributions from senior legal figures and others with an interest in the application of the law from both sides of Ireland’s border, Britain and Europe.

The working group has been briefed to seek submissions from groups and individuals as well as authorities and academic institutions from at home and abroad.

Next year it will present a report to Mr Justice Keane and Ireland’s Courts Service Board after studying criminal and civil law issues and any changes to the structure of the courts that might be considered necessary.

When the working group was appointed, the chief justice said its objectives should be to provide the citizen “with a system of civil and criminal justice that is accessible to all and which functions in a manner that is impartial, open and expeditious.”

He pointed to the perceived inefficiency of the current system, where it was felt scarce resources were not best used, judges and staff worked long into the evening to keep up with an ever-expanding and complex case-loads, and the public were asked to wait long periods for certain types of cases to be heard.

Mr Justice Keane also made the point that Ireland had the lowest proportion of judges per head of population of any country in the European Union.

The working group – headed by Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Niall Fennelly - is expected to present a wide ranging set of reform recommendations for eventual consideration by the government in Dublin.

Early indications from studies undertaken so far by the group have suggested that a very low proportion of defendants who have the right to be tried by jury in the Circuit Court instead of in the District Court actually exercise this right of election.

Other points to emerge from surveys are:

* A majority of respondents – 60.7% overall – expressed satisfaction with the present system for allocating cases to the various levels of the court system;

* A strong degree of confidence in jury verdicts was reported by 76.1% of people questioned;

* There were split views on whether the prosecution should have a right of appeal against acquittal, with 40.6% in favour, and 52.3% against.