High Court decision that caused introduction of emergency legislation overturned by Supreme Court

The legal issue arose in relation to the prosecution in August 2021 of a man who denied a charge of having a small quantity of cannabis.

The Supreme Court has overturned a decision that led to the introduction of emergency legislation to prevent thousands of criminal prosecutions from being held up in the district court.

In May 2022, the High Court struck down as invalid a district court rule that allowed a Garda officer not directly involved in a case to present the facts to court.