Essay On The Court System In Ireland

The court system in Ireland is fairly similar to that of the United States. The 1922 Constitution enabled new courts to be formed and the Courts of Justice Act in 1924 gave them legal basis (The Courts, 2016). Ireland’s current courts were set up by the Courts Act of 1961 and include “a court of final appeal (the Supreme Court), a Court of Appeal, and courts of first instance, which include a High Court with full jurisdiction in all criminal and civil matters, and courts of limited jurisdiction, the Circuit Court and the District Court” (The Courts, 2016). The Supreme Court or court of final appeal is composed of the Chief Justice of Ireland and nine normal judges along with the presidents of the Court of Appeal and High Court (Supreme Court, …show more content…
Like Circuit Courts, District Courts are divided into four sections: civil, criminal, family, and licensing. District Courts appeal from statutory bodies and their decisions are final unless it’s a matter of issue with the actual law in which the case is passed on to the High Court. “The District Court also deals with miscellaneous actions such as actions taken in the Control of Dogs Acts, applications for citizenship, applications to amend birth and marriage certificates and applications under the Environmental Protection Act, 1992 for orders in connection with noise reduction” (District Court, 2014). Civil courts at this level deal with claims that do not exceed €15,000 (District Court, 2014). Criminal courts deal with summary offences, indictable offences tried summarily, indictable offences, and indictable offences not tried summarily (District Court, 2014). Family Law is not dealt with in open court but consists of domestic violence, guardianship of children, maintenance, and childcare (District Court, 2014). With licensing it has relations to liquor and lottery licensing (District Court, 2014). In Ireland Constitutional Review is used (Amending The Constitution, 2005). For the constitution to be amended, the proposal for amendment must first be initiated as a bill and be passed on to …show more content…
In Ireland citizens have “the right to trial by jury … legal representation … have access to the court, fair procedure, habeas corpus protection, a speedy trial, the exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence and protection against self-incrimination” (Pease & Cox). In criminal cases there is no plea-bargaining, but the accused may plea guilty for a lessened sentence (Pease & Cox). Bail may be allotted to the accused after consideration (Pease & Cox). There are also no specific guidelines for sentencing in Ireland, but there are informal traditions and maximum sentences for different crime to limit unreasonable punishment (Pease &