High Court (Ireland)

Not to be confused with Courts of Northern Ireland#High Court.

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The High Court (Irish: An Ard-Chúirt) of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and sits with judge and jury. It also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. It also has the power to determine whether or not a law is constitutional, and of judicial review over acts of the government and other public bodies.

Structure

The High Court is established by Article 34 of the Constitution of Ireland, which grants it "full original jurisdiction in and power to determine all matters and questions whether of law or fact, civil or criminal", as well as the ability to determine "the validity of any law having regard to the provisions of this Constitution". Judges are appointed by the President. However, as with almost all the President's constitutional powers, these appointments are made under "the advice of the Government". In practice, this means that the judges are nominated by the government and automatically approved by the President.

There can be at most 32 ordinary High Court judges, however the president of the Circuit Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are ex officio judges of the High Court. Cases are normally heard by one judge, but the President of the High Court may order that a particular case be heard by three judges sitting together — a so-called divisional court.

The court normally hears cases in the Four Courts building in Dublin, although it also has regular sittings outside the capital.

Richard Johnson succeeded Joseph Finnegan as President of the High Court in December 2006, and was himself succeeded by Nicholas Kearns in October 2009. Mella Carroll was the first woman to serve on the court and did so between 1980 and 2005.

Criminal cases

The High Court is known as the Central Criminal Court (Irish: An Phríomh-Chúirt Choiriúil) when it is hearing a criminal case. The Central Criminal Court has original jurisdiction for the following criminal offences:

• treason, (as well as aiding or concealing treason)
• murder (as well as attempted murder and conspiracy to murder)
• capital murder of a Garda or prison officer acting in the course of their duty
• piracy
• genocide
• a severe breach of the Geneva Conventions
• anti-Competitive Behaviour or Abuse of Dominant Market Position
• rape and other serious sexual offences

All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in front of a jury of twelve. The defendant can be convicted on a majority verdict of ten jurors. Appeals from the Central Criminal Court can be made to the Court of Criminal Appeal, and the sentence can be appealed as well as the verdict.

The Central Criminal Courtroom Layout

• The Presiding Judge
• The Tipstaff or Judges Usher
• The Witness
• The Court Reporter or Stenographer
• The Registrar or Court Clerk
• The Solicitors
• The Counsel
• The Audience or Members of the Public
• The Accused
• The Prison Officer and
• The Jury

• Source: www.courts.ie: [PDF] Who's who in the Courtroom - Chart

Civil cases

The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil cases where the plaintiff is claiming more than €38,092.14 (IR£30,000 late currency) in damages, this being the upper limit of the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court.

By virtue of its full original jurisdiction under the Constitution, however, theoretically a civil action of any value may commence in the High Court.

The High Court has full chancery powers to grant any injunction or declaration that could be granted by a court of chancery. Petitions to windup companies and various company law remedies are heard by the High Court which has exclusive jurisdiction in this area.

The High Court further has exclusive jurisdiction in the area of bankruptcies.

In contentious Probate matters and Family Law the High Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Circuit Court over such claims. Non-contentious Probate motions are heard solely by the High Court.

The High Court has full jurisdiction in Admiralty and can exercise jurisdiction under the Brussels Convention on the Arrest of Seagoing Vessels.

The Court also has power of judicial review over the acts of the government and other public bodies, including the decisions of all inferior courts, and decisions made by tribunals of inquiry.

The High Court hears all applications for extradition, both under the European Arrest Warrant system and to non-EU member states.

Appeals from professional disciplinary bodies under the Nurses Act, Medical Practitioners Act and Solicitors Acts are to the High Court.

Any non-criminal judgment or order of the High Court sitting as a court of first instance may be appealed to the Supreme Court save as provided for by statute.

The High Court also hears civil and family law appeals from the Circuit Court and when hearing such an appeal its decision is final and there is no right of further appeal. The High Court sits outside of Dublin to hear appeals from trials from circuits other than the Dublin Circuit and is known as the "High Court on Circuit".

Statutory Appeals on points of law can be made to the High Court from the District Court and various statutory bodies and consultative cases on a point of law can be stated to the High Court from the District Court, various statutory bodies or an Arbitrator hearing an arbitration.

History

The current High Court is the fourth court in Ireland to bear that name. The first High Court - the High Court of Justice in Ireland - was created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877. This fused the administration of common law and equity in Ireland (as had been done in England several years earlier under the Judicature Acts). The existing four superior courts, the Court of King's Bench (Ireland), Court of Chancery, Court of Exchequer, and Court of Common Pleas were merged to form the High Court of Justice, although they remained as divisions of the new court. However, in Ireland, the divisions of the High Court other than the King's Bench Division and Chancery Division were abolished by 1907. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 split the court in separate courts for Northern Ireland (the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland and the High Court of Justice in Southern Ireland). Judges of the existing Court became judges of the Southern Ireland court unless they elected otherwise. With the enactment of the Constitution of the Irish Free State, the High Court became the High Court of Justice in Saorstat Éireann.

After the establishment of jurisdiction and of the Irish Free State, the Courts of Justice Act 1924 created a new courts system. The High Court of Justice was the only court from the pre-independence era to keep its name (and substantially, the same jurisdiction). However, the divisions were now completely abolished and any judge of the High Court could now hear any suit at either common law or equity. A new office of President of the High Court was established, as the previous judicial offices (Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Vice-Chancellor, and Master of the Rolls in Ireland) were abolished under this Act. Most of the existing judges retired at this time and new judges were appointed.

After the enactment of the Constitution of Ireland, the Courts Acts 1961 established a new High Court as required by the Constitution. However this Court was in both form and name substantially identical to that established under the 1924 Act. This court is simply known as the High Court.

High Court judges

Judges of the High Court deal with both civil and criminal matters, and have jurisdiction at both common law and equity. When the High Court deals with criminal cases it sits as the Central Criminal Court.

Male judges of the Court are titled e.g. "The Honourable Mr Justice John Smith", while female judges are (depending on preference) "The Honourable Mrs/Ms/Miss Justice Jane Smith" or similar. Traditionally judges of the superior courts were addressed as "My Lord" in Court, although this was never contained in the Rules of the Superior Courts, which mandated that they be addressed by their respective titles or names, or as "The Court". Since 2006 use of the traditional form has been discouraged in favour of the form in the Rules, although continued use of "My Lord" is not unknown. In law reports, the President is cited e.g. "Smith P" while other judges are cited "Smith J". The President of the Circuit Court may sit as an additional High Court judge and occasional other Circuit Court Judges are temporarily assigned to sit ex-officio as High Court judges. The Chief Justice of Ireland is additionally an ex-officio judge of the High Court.

Current High Court judges

President of the High Court

• Nicholas Kearns (since 2009)

High Court judges

Name	Since
Paul Carney	1991
Mary Laffoy	1995
Michael Moriarty	1996
Peter Kelly	1996
Iarfhlaith O'Neill	1999
Roderick Murphy	2000
Daniel Herbert	2000
Paul Butler	2000
Henry Abbott	2002
Éamon de Valera	2002
Mary Finlay Geoghegan	2002
Michael Peart	2002
Barry White	2002
Paul Gilligan	2003
Seán Ryan	2003
Elizabeth Dunne	2004
Michael Hanna	2004
Kevin Feeney	2005
Brian McGovern	2006
Peter Charleton	2006
Maureen Clark	2006
John Hedigan	2007
George Birmingham	2007
Mary C. Irvine	2007
John A. Edwards	2007
Patrick J. McCarthy	2007
Garrett Sheehan	2007
John Cooke	2007
Gerard Hogan	2010
Michael White	2011
Kevin Cross	2011
Paul McDermott	2012
Iseult O'Malley	2012
Colm Mac Eochaidh	2012

Ex-officio members

Name	Office
Susan Denham	Chief Justice
John L. Murray	Former Chief Justice
Matthew Deery	President of the Circuit Court

Previous High Court judges (from 1924)

Name	Term of office
Timothy Sullivan	1924–1936
James Creed Meredith	1924–1936
Thomas O'Shaughnessy	1924–1925
William E. Wylie	1924–1936
William J. Johnston	1924–1939
James A. Murnaghan	1924–1925
Henry Hanna	1925–1943
John O'Byrne	1926–1940
Conor Maguire	1936
George Gavan Duffy	1936–1951
William Black	1939–1942
Martin C. Maguire	1940–1954
Kevin Haugh	1942–1961
Andrew Kingsbury Overend	1943–1947
Cahir Davitt	1945–1966
Kevin Dixon	1946–1959
T. C. Kingsmill Moore	1947–1951
Charles Casey	1951–1952
Frederick O. Budd	1951–1965
Richard McLoughlin	1952–1969
George D. Murnaghan	1954–1979
Thomas Teevan	1954–1971
Brian Walsh	1959–1961
John Kenny	1961–1975
Seán Butler	1966–1980
Alfred D. Pringle	1969–1974
Frank Griffin	1971–1973
Thomas Finlay	1972–1985
John Gannon	1973–1990
Tom O'Higgins	1973–1974
Kenneth Deale	1974
Liam Hamilton	1974–1994
Weldon Parke	1974–1976
Thomas A. Doyle	1974–1984
James G. McMahon	1975–1986
Herbert R. McWilliam	1976–1985
Declan Costello	1977–1998
James A. D'Arcy	1977–1986
Ronan Keane	1979–1996
William Ellis	1979–1983
Donal Barrington	1979–1989
Mella Carroll	1980–2005
Roderick O'Hanlon	1981–1995
Edward Walsh	1981–1982
Henry Barron	1982–1997
Francis Murphy	1982–1996
Kevin Lynch	1984–1996
Seamus F. Egan	1984–1991
Robert Barr	1985–2002
Gerard Lardner	1985–1993
John Blaney	1986–1992
John McKenzie	1986–1991
Richard Johnson	1987–2009
Vivian Lavan	1991–2011
Frederick Morris	1990–2001
Declan Budd	1991–2011
Susan Denham	1991–1992
Feargus Flood	1991–2000
Hugh Geoghegan	1992–2000
Dermot Kinlen	1993–2002
Brian McCracken	1995–2002
Peter Shanley	1996–1998
Catherine McGuinness	1996–2000
Thomas C. Smyth	1996–2008
Diarmuid O'Donovan	1996–2007
Philip O'Sullivan	1997–2006
Kevin C. O'Higgins	1997–2008
Matthew P. Smith	1998–2004
Cyril C. Kelly	1998–1999
Nicholas Kearns	1998–2004
Fidelma Macken	1998–1999
Aindrias Ó Caoimh	1999–2004
Joseph Finnegan	1999–2001
Liam McKechnie	2000–2010
Seán O'Leary	2003–2006
Fidelma Macken	2004–2005
Frank Clarke	2004–2012
John MacMenamin	2004–2012
Daniel O'Keeffe	2008–2013

Master of the High Court

• Edmund Honohan, SC

Presidents of the High Court since 1924

The office of President of the High Court was created under the Courts of Justice Act 1924. Before 1924, the Master of the Rolls in Ireland was the President of the High Court.

Name	Term of office
Timothy Sullivan	1924–1936
Conor Maguire	1936–1946
George Gavan Duffy	1946–1951
Cahir Davitt	1951–1966
Aindrias Ó Caoimh	1966–1974
Thomas Finlay	1974–1985
Liam Hamilton	1985–1994
Harry Whelehan	15–17 Nov 1994
Declan Costello	1995–1998
Frederick Morris	1998–2001
Joseph Finnegan	2001–2006
Richard Johnson	2006–2009
Nicholas Kearns	2009–present

See also

• Courts of the Republic of Ireland

External links

• High Court – Irish government information website
• High Court – Courts Service of Ireland
• High Court of Ireland Decisions – British and Irish Legal Information Institute