Dáil Courts

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The Dáil Courts were widely established by September 1920 under the authority of Dáil Éireann as the judicial branch of government of the Irish Republic.^[1] As such, they were an integral part of its policy of undermining British rule in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence. ^[2]

Contents 1 Genesis 2 Establishment 3 Bibliography 4 Notes and Sources

[edit] Genesis

The precursor of the Dáil Court system was a forum for arbitration commonly known as the 'Sinn Féin Court' .^[3] In 1904, Arthur Griffith had reiterated the idea of National Arbitration Courts in every county:

....not less important to the nation than a National Civil Service are National Courts of Law. Hungary understood this and established Arbitration Courts, which superseded the courts which Austria sought to impose upon her. Ireland, before O'Connell retreated from the proposal of erecting a de facto Irish Parliament in Dublin, had established such courts. I say it to my countrymen, as The Nation said to them in 1843, "You have it in your power to resume popular courts and fix laws, and it is your duty to do so. If you resort in any of your disputes to any but your own judges, you injure yourselves and commit treason to your country."^[4]

At a Ministry meeting of 23rd June 1919, it was decided to set up a committee on arbitration courts.^[5] Unlike the rules which then regulated who could become a Justice of the Peace, ^[6] women were expressly eligible to become judges in the new courts.^[7] The general idea of Parish and District Courts on the lines of those then operating in West Clare was approved.^[8]The courts were usually arbitrated by local Irish Republican Army or Sinn Féin figures who had authority in the area. In appearance they were less formal than the British civil courts and its officers did not wear regalia associated with the legal profession of the time such as gowns and wigs. They filled a vacuum which had been created by the conflict, and sought to persuade people who were inclined to fear the I.R.A.'s revolutionary nature that an independent Ireland would not affect personal and property rights.^[9] During the war, the courts gradually extended their influence across most of the country, usurping the British law courts as the British government lost its authority in the eyes of the majority.

[edit] Establishment

On the 4th March 1919, Austin Stack submitted a report regarding " courts with coercive jurisdiction". However, he did not think that it was yet feasible to make them immediately operational and pointed out that the Dáil Decree . (Decree No. 8, Session 4, 1919 ^[10]) only provided for arbitration courts. ^[11]The Dáil Courts replaced the Sinn Féin Arbitration Courts, authorised in June 1919. The latter, only fully operational in West Clare, and with limited jurisdiction in property disputes had been coming under pressure to hear criminal cases. The critical difference between the two systems was the power to adjudicate assumed by the new courts regardless of the wishes of the parties. While the courts of arbitration could have been characterised as within the tradition of contract law, the latter assumed powers of coercion characteristic of a state. The new Dáil Courts were much more ambitious in intent and and more geographically widespread than their predecessor.

Among the offences dealt with by the courts were "rowdyism", larceny, breaches of the licensing laws, damage to property, 'abusive language towards women', bank and post-office robberies and assaults. Punishment for these offences varied, including the returning of stolen property, repairing damage, fines, and other means of restitution and awarding Damages. Incarceration was not a commonly available option to the court during the conflict. However, more serious offences could merit exile from Ireland, which increased the workload of some English courts dramatically. Treason, which was punishable by death, was not part of the Dáil courts' remit, being dealt with summarily by court-martial.

The laws and precedence were taken from the law that existed in Ireland on the day Dáil Éireann first sat, (21st of January 1919), with the addition of all Dáil decrees issued from that date. It was possible to cite Brehon, French and Roman law.^{[citation needed]} In some areas where the British military presence was especially strong (such as County Cork), the courts could only meet intermittently. It was while presiding at a District Court on 12th August 1920, that Terence MacSwiney was arrested.^[12] The courts' rulings were enforced by IRA Volunteers and the Irish Republican Police, the former often viewing them as a distraction from what they viewed as their main task.^[13] The courts were important in bringing the IRA further under the authority of the Dáil in some parts,^{[citation needed]} which hitherto had been little more than nominal, as some commanders were overly inclined to prize their autonomy.

The efficacy of the courts in what became the Irish Free State after the Truce of 11 July 1921 is open to question. The IRA G.H.Q. ordered that 'all hostilities shall cease' from that date, but dozens of murders between July 1921 and the outbreak of the Irish Civil War in July 1922 went unpunished; not one person was ever charged. This opened the question of how much real control could be exercised by the Dáil through its courts and the Republican police, and how much security could be guaranteed by the new state, whether described as the Irish Republic or the Irish Free State.

The Dáil Courts were wound up by the Third Dáil in July 1923, after the formation of the Irish Free State and the end of the Irish Civil War.

[edit] Bibliography

Kotsonouris, Mary (a): Retreat from Revolution: The Dáil Courts, 1920-24: Irish Academic Press: Dublin: 1994
Kotsonouris, Mary (b): The Winding Up of the Dáil Courts 1922-1925: Four Courts Press: 2004
O'Malley, Ernie On Another Man's Wound Four Square Books London 1961 (First published by Rich and Cowan, 1936)
Casey, J.P.(a) The Genesis of the Dáil Courts in # 9 Irish Jurist (1974) 326-338
Casey, J.P (b) Republican Courts in Ireland 1919-1922 in # 5 Irish Jurist (1970) 321-342
Dept. of Home Affairs: Rules and Forms of Parish and District Court: 1921:File located at National Archives of Ireland: Dept. of Justice Files H 140/5 also DE 47/17
O'Connor, (Sir) James: Irish Justice of the Peace: E. Pononby: Dublin: 1911
Davitt, Cahir: The Civil Jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice of the Irish Republic 1920-1922: in # 3 Irish Jurist (1970)
Ministry for Home Affairs: The Constructive Work of Dail Eireann No.1- The National Police and Courts of Justice: Talbot Press, Dublin: 1921 (attributed to Erskine Childers)
Sinder, Janet: Irish Legal History: An Overview and Guide to the Sources: in Law Library Journal Vol. 93:2: 2001: pp231-260 [1]

[edit] Notes and Sources