Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
47 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform , further to the commitment in the Programme for Government to effect a general reform of the courts system, including the reorganisation of the High Court into specialist divisions, and to merge the criminal jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and High Courts, when this change will be implemented. [20595/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am committed to enhancing and improving the capability of the courts system to respond to the many challenges faced by it. Earlier this year I signed new rules of court to facilitate the operation of the High Court's commercial list. The new rules provide for proceedings, where the claim or counter claim is not less than €1 million, to be entered in a commercial list. The pre-trial procedure provides that a judge may fix time limits for the conduct of proceedings entered in the commercial list. He or she may also give initial directions to facilitate the determination of the hearing, including the holding of a case management conference to ensure that proceedings are prepared for trial in a manner that is expeditious and likely to minimise the costs of proceedings.
In response to the increase in volume and complexity of the case load in the judicial review area, the president of the High Court assigned judges, on a dedicated basis, to deal with the judicial review lists. The president has also allocated judges time out of court to prepare the reserved judgments that are increasingly required in such cases. In assigning judicial personnel on a long-term basis to the judicial review lists it was necessary to give consideration to the competing needs of other areas of the High Court's jurisdiction, in particular the need to secure, as a matter of priority, a substantial reduction of delay in trial of criminal cases before the Central Criminal Court.
The object of the arrangements made by the president of the High Court, apart from ensuring the disposal of applications for judicial review with greater expedition, is to enable the Judiciary to identify accurately over a sustained period the sources of delay in disposal of judicial review applications. Another aim is to arrive at distinct case management approaches appropriate to the various categories of judicial review application. It is intended that at the end of the current legal year an evaluation of the experience of the judges assigned to the lists will be carried out with a view to formulating the most appropriate procedural solutions, and determining the appropriate level of judicial resources that should be allocated to disposal of cases.
The Deputy will also be aware of the considerable reform being made in the area of personal injury litigation in the Civil Liability and Courts Bill that passed all stages in Dáil Éireann. Also, the establishment by my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. It represents a radical new approach to the determination of personal injury claims. Provision is also being made in the Civil Liability and Courts Bill for the appointment of eight additional judges to improve services and reduce delays.
The issue of merging the criminal jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and the Central Criminal Court was examined by the working group on the jurisdiction of the courts established by the Courts Service after the Fennelly report. It recommended the retention of the Central Criminal Court and the Circuit Criminal Court as separate jurisdictions. The report contains many other recommendations aimed at streamlining and improving the processing of criminal business before the courts. I am examining them with a view to implementation, where feasible.
