Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 28 Jan 1998

Vol. 486 No. 1

Written Answers. - Committee on Court Practice and Procedure Reports.

Dick Spring

Question:

779 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide a list of the reports of the Committee on Court Practice and Procedure; the date and topic or topics of each report; the legislation introduced to give effect to the report; in the case of reports not fully implemented, whether this implementation will be proposed; if so, when this will occur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1771/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue):

The reports of the Committee on Court Practice and Procedure are as follows:

No.	Date	Topic
1st	19 March 1963	The Preliminary Investigation of Indictable Offences.
2nd	15 March 1965	Jury Service.
3rd	19 July 1965	Jury Trial in Civil Actions.
4th	5 November 1965	Jury Challenges
5th	20 April 1966	Increase of Jurisdiction of the District Court and the Circuit Court.
6th	26 July 1966	The Criminal Jurisdiction of the High Court.
7th	26 July 1966	Appeals from Conviction on Indictment.
8th	19 July 1968	(1) Service of Court Documents by Post
		(2) Fees of Professional Witnesses.
9th	3 April 1969	Proof of Previous Convictions
10th	19 December 1969	Interest Rate on Judgment Debts
11th	11 March 1970	The Jurisdiction and Practice of the Supreme Court
12th	26 August 1970	Courts Organisation
13th	8 March 1971	The Solicitor's Right of Audience
14th	18 May 1971	Liability of Barristers and Solicitors for Professional Negligence
15th	23 July 1971	On the Spot Fines
16th	13 January 1972	The Jurisdiction of the Master of the High Court
17th	16 February 1972	Court Fees
18th	4 May 1972	Execution of Money Judgments, Orders and Decrees
19th	12 February 1974	Desertion and Maintenance
20th	1 August 1978	Incease of Jurisdiction of the District Court and the Circuit Court
21st	13 November 1989	Section 25(3) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 (Majority Verdicts)
22nd	2 February 1993	Prosecution Appeals
23rd	31 December 1994	The Provision of a Procedure to enable Representatives of the Media to be heard by the Court where an application is being made in Civil Proceedings to have a case heard otherwise then in Public.
24th	25 February 1997	Preliminary Examination of Indictable Offences
25th	25 February 1997	The Provision of Documentation to Juries in Serious Fraud Trials

Since its establishment in 1962, the Committee on Court Practice and Procedure has submitted 25 interim reports to the Minister on a wide range of topics and a number of recommendations, most notably in the area of changes in the jurisdiction of the courts, have been implemented by way of legislation. In recent years five interim reports — the 21st to 25th interim reports, as detailed above — have been submitted by the committee.

The position with regard to the implementation of these reports is as follows. In the 21st interim report the committee recommended no change in the statutory requirement relating to majority verdicts. In the 22nd interim report, the committee's recommendation in relation to prosecuting ‘with prejudice' appeals against directed acquittals is under examination. The committee's recommendation that the prosecution would have the right to appeal an unduly lenient sentence was taken into account in the measures providing for appeals against unduly lenient sentences contained in the Criminal Justice Act, 1993. In the 23rd interim report, the committee's recommendation that the media should be heard on the question of whether a civil case should be held in camera or not is being considered. The 24th interim report dealt with the issue of preliminary examinations. Measures relating to preliminary examinations are contained in the Criminal Justice Bill, 1997. In the 25th interim report, the committee's recommendation that the trial judge be empowered to order documents to be supplied to the jury is under consideration in the context of measures being prepared to reform the law relating to fraud and measures to apply to criminal trials generally.