The Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 was enacted on 6 August and constitutes the government’s response to the new challenges posed to our courts and legal systems from the current pandemic. The Act also goes beyond the pandemic and will make many of our legal processes more efficient and effective into the future.
The Act covers a wide range of issues in relation to both our civil and criminal legal systems such as:
- the reform of the law concerning coroners in the context of the current pandemic;
- the introduction of a statutory basis for our courts to conduct remote hearings in civil proceedings;
- the admissibility of business records as evidence in civil proceedings;
- the lodgement of documents with the courts by electronic means (e-filing);
- the lodgement of “statements of truth” with the courts by electronic means, as an alternative to the swearing of affidavits;
- provision for the wider use of video links between persons in custody and the courts;
- enhancing and widening the existing provisions on giving evidence through video link;
- providing for appeals in criminal proceedings to take place via remote hearing;
- removing the existing requirement to transport prisoners between prisons to execute a warrant;
- providing for the remote meetings of State bodies, unincorporated bodies and bodies designated by Ministers of Government;
- the execution of documents in counterpart; and
- making it easier for the Courts Service to alter the operating hours and sitting locations of the District Court.
The civil law provisions of the Act (with the exception of section 32) were commenced from 21st August, while the criminal law provisions will be commenced from 5th September.
A Medium Term Planning Group (Civil) was established by my Department to identify medium term measures to address the impact of the pandemic on the justice system, in particular the courts. The group is comprised of various stakeholders including the Legal Aid Board, ISI, Courts Service and members of the judiciary, as well as my officials, and part of the group’s work was to identify and review measures for inclusion in the Bill.
The General Scheme was prepared by my officials who engaged in consultation with relevant stakeholders including the Courts Service, An Garda Siochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Irish Prison Service and the Coroner Society of Ireland.
In addition, a copy of the draft head concerning “Statements of Truth” was provided to the Law Society of Ireland at its request, for information. This head was previously published by my Department as part of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017.
I can confirm that no outside submissions were received during the preparation of this legislation.
Following approval by cabinet on 20th July, the bill was drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. There was extensive engagement between my officials and Attorney General’s officials, as would be expected in the normal course of business when preparing legislation, as well as continued engagement with the parties listed above.
As with any piece of legislation, publication of the bill was subject to technical / drafting changes, and any corrections or necessary additional material were provided by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
