| Ireland |
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The Courts of the Republic of Ireland consist of the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court. The courts apply the laws of Ireland. Ireland is a common law jurisdiction and trials for serious offences must usually be held before a jury. The High Court and the Supreme Court have authority, by means of judicial review, to determine the compatibility of laws and activities of other institutions of the state with the constitution and the law. Except in exceptional circumstances, court hearings must occur in public.
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The current system of courts is provided for in Article 34 of the Constitution of Ireland of 1937. However, it was not until the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961 became law that this system took effect. Between 1937 and 1961 the courts provided for by the Constitution of the Irish Free State and the Courts of Justice Act 1924 continued their work under the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of 1937, in which Articles 34 to 37 deal with the administration of justice generally.
The Courts Service Act 1998 created the Courts Service of Ireland to manage the courts and associated property, and provide assistance and facilities to their users, including judges. The Courts Service also provides information to the public. The Courts Service Board, which oversees policy formulation and implementation, is headed by a Chief Executive Officer. Judges of the courts are independent of the service in their judicial functions and are in that capacity paid by the state and not the service.
The Supreme Court and the High Court are established by the Constitution. The Supreme Court is defined as the Court of Final Appeal, but usually hears appeals only on points of law. Its decisions as to the interpretation of the Constitution and the law are final. The High Court also has authority to interpret the Constitution. It also tries the most serious criminal and civil cases, and hears certain appeals from lower courts. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and there is a jury.
The Supreme Court and the High Court are the only courts specifically required by the Constitution. Other courts are established by law. Beneath the superior courts are the Circuit Court and the District Court. The Circuit Court deals with matters that must be tried before a jury. The District Court deals only with minor matters that may be tried summarily.
The Constitution provides for only two institutions in which a serious crime may be tried in the absence of a jury: a military tribunal, and a special court established by law to try serious offences whenever this is considered to be in the interests of justice or public order. Such a court has been established in the form of the Special Criminal Court, which has been used to try those accused of being members of paramilitary organisations such as the Provisional IRA, or of leading organised crime.
Judges are appointed by the President, acting on the binding advice of the Government (cabinet).
The Constitution mandates that the remuneration of judges may not be diminished while they remain in office. The Twenty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2011 is intended to ease this restriction. The refusal of most judges to pay the public service pension levy in 2009 was said by some observers to demonstrate how out of touch with reality the judiciary had become.[1]
The procedure for removing a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court from office is specified in the Constitution, but by law the same mechanism applies to judges of the lower courts. A judge may be removed from office only for "stated misbehaviour or incapacity" and only if a joint resolution is adopted by both houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament). After such a resolution is approved the judge is dismissed by the President. No judge has been removed from office since the foundation of the state in 1922.
In 1999 then Chief Justice Hamilton reported on the interventions of two judges, Justice Hugh O'Flaherty of the Supreme Court and Justice Cyril Kelly of the High Court, in the early release of Philip Sheedy, who had been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. The Chief Justice described their actions as inappropriate and unwise.[2] Following strong political reaction, and facing an Oireachtas debate on the report and a request by the executive to resign, the judges both resigned.[3][4] In their resignation statements they said they had done nothing wrong, but were resigning "to restore faith in the judicial system".
In 2004 a motion to impeach a Circuit Court judge, Brian Curtin, was launched in the Dáil, the first time such a move has been made. This followed strong public reaction to his acquittal on charges of possession of child pornography, due to evidence seized by gardaí being ruled inadmissible, and the judge's refusal of a Government request to resign. The Dáil established a joint committee to consider the evidence and report to the Dáil, a process that was upheld by the Supreme Court following a challenge by the judge. In November 2006, facing questioning by the committee, Judge Curtin resigned on health grounds, ending the impeachment process.[5]
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