THE CHIEF Justice has appealed for the creation of a court of appeal that could hear the vast bulk of appeals from the 36 High Courts. All civil appeals from the High Court currently must go to the Supreme Court, which also decides on constitutional matters. Criminal appeals mainly go to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Mrs Justice Susan Denham told the Institute of Directors yesterday that legal certainty and the speedy resolution of disputes are essential for economic growth and development. The establishment of the Commercial Court, with its own procedures, ensured faster and more efficient disposal of commercial cases, with 25 per cent of all cases disposed of in under three weeks and 90 per cent of cases disposed of in less than 49 weeks.
However, the benefit of this could be undermined by the fact that an appeal of a Commercial Court decision must go to the Supreme Court, where most cases were waiting more than 36 months, despite the fact that last year this court disposed of almost 250 cases, she said.
Unlike its counterparts in the common law world, Ireland does not have an intermediate appeal court, leading to a situation where the Supreme Court was overwhelmed by the volume coming from the High Court. The creation of a court of appeal was promised in the programme for government, she said.
Many delegations had come from overseas, she added, to learn about it and use it as an example.
However, its funding allocation was down 46 per cent on 2008, and its staff had been reduced by 20 per cent, which posed grave challenges for its ability to serve the public.