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TheHigh Court (Irish:An Ard-Chúirt) ofIreland is a court which deals atfirst instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called theCentral Criminal Court and sits with judge and jury. It also acts as acourt of appeal for civil cases in theCircuit Court. It also has the power to determine whether or not a law is constitutional, and ofjudicial review over acts of thegovernment and other public bodies.
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The High Court is established by Article 34[1] of theConstitution of Ireland, which grants the court "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 thePresident, as Article 35 dictates.[2] However, as with almost all the President's constitutional powers, these appointments are made on "theadvice of theGovernment". In practice, this means that the judges are nominated by the government and automatically approved by the President.
The High Court is composed of its president, 42 ordinary judges,[3] and additional judges beingex officio the Chief Justice, the President of theCourt of Appeal, the President of theCircuit Court, and former chief justices and courts presidents who remain judges.
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 theFour Courts building inDublin, although it also has regular sittings outside the capital.
Mella Carroll was the first woman to serve on the court and did so between 1980 and 2005.
The High Court is known as the 'Central Criminal Court' when it is hearing a criminal case. The Central Criminal Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the following criminal offences:
All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in front of ajury of twelve people. 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 Appeal, and the sentence can be appealed as well as the verdict.
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The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil cases where the plaintiff is claiming more than€75,000 in damages in ordinary contract and tort claims, or€60,000 in damages in personal injuries actions,[11] this being the upper limit of the jurisdiction of theCircuit 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 acourt 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 ofjudicial review over the acts of the government and other public bodies, including the decisions of all inferior courts, and decisions made bytribunals 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 theSupreme Court save as provided for by statute.
The High Court also hears civil and family law appeals from theCircuit 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.
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The current High Court is the fourth court in Ireland to bear that name. The first High Court – theHigh Court of Justice in Ireland – was created by theSupreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877. This fused the administration ofcommon law andequity in Ireland (as had been done in England several years earlier under theJudicature Acts). The existing four superior courts, theCourt of King's Bench (Ireland),Court of Chancery,Court of Exchequer, andCourt of Common Pleas were merged to form the High Court of Justice, although they remained as divisions of the new court, and the building which housed them is called theFour Courts to this day. However, in Ireland, the divisions of the High Court other than the King's Bench Division and Chancery Division were abolished by 1907. TheGovernment of Ireland Act 1920 split the court into separate courts forNorthern Ireland (theHigh 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 theConstitution of the Irish Free State, the High Court became theHigh Court of Justice in Saorstát Éireann.
After the establishment of theIrish Free State, theCourts 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 eithercommon law orequity. A new office of President of the High Court was established, as the previous judicial offices (Lord Chief Justice of Ireland,Vice-Chancellor, andMaster 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.[12] This court is simply known as theHigh Court.
Judges of the High Court deal with both civil and criminal matters, and have full original jurisdiction. When the High Court deals with criminal cases, it sits as the Central Criminal Court.[14]
In court, ordinary judges are directly addressed as "Judge" (in Irish, "a Bhreithimh") or in the third person as "The Court". The President of the High Court is to be addressed by their title.[15] In writing, judges should be described as "The Honourable Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Justice Murphy", which is typically abbreviated in judgements as "Murphy J." ("Murphy P." in the case of the president). Prior to 2006, judges were traditionally addressed in court as "My Lord" (whether male or female), following the British tradition, although this was never contained in the Rules of the Superior Courts.
The President of theCircuit Court may sit as an additional High Court judge and occasional other Circuit Court judges are temporarily assigned to sitex officio as High Court judges. The Chief Justice of Ireland is additionally anex officio judge of the High Court.
| Name | Office |
|---|---|
| Donal O'Donnell | Chief Justice |
| Caroline Costello | President of the Court of Appeal |
| Patricia Ryan | President of the Circuit Court |
The office of President of the High Court was created under theCourts of Justice Act 1924.[16] Before 1924, theMaster of the Rolls in Ireland was the President of the High Court.[17]
| 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 | 2009–2015 |
| Peter Kelly | 2015–2020 |
| Mary Irvine | 2020–2022 |
| David Barniville | 2022–present |
The Master of the High Court is an official attached to the court with the power to make a range of minor interlocutory orders and give judgement in uncontested matters. Although based on thecommon-law master of theEnglish judiciary, the master in Ireland is not a judge, but rather a "quasi-judicial office holder".[18] The office of master of the High Court was established in 1926.[19] Its functions are specified in Order 63 of the Rules of the Superior Courts.[20][21][22] Originally, the master also had any residual powers of court officers whose posts were abolished in 1924 but whose powers were not transferred elsewhere.[23]
Although abarrister rather than a judge,[24][25] the master holds hearings onoriginal jurisdiction applications. These hearings, at whichdocumentary evidence may be presented, are unofficially called theMaster's Court.[20] In 2008–2013, the master made 2,922 to 4,763orders per annum,[26][27] and issued between one and fourrulings.[28]
Patrick Lindsay was the master from 1975 to 1984 and Harry Hill between 1984 and 2001.[29][30]Edmund Honohan was made master in May 2001.[31] Since his retirement in April 2022, the position has been vacant with the deputy master presiding.[32]
Contrary to a misconception sometimes held, neither the Master of the High Court nor the Taxing Masters are members of the judiciary. They are what are known as quasi-judicial office holders.
President Kearns has said he wishes to clarify that the Master is not a judge but an office holder with limited functions created by statute.
