There are a number of urgent matters for the new working group on the jurisdiction of the courts. The first is the resources of the Central Criminal Court and the allocation of jurisdiction between it and the Circuit Criminal Courts, where the latter cannot deal with rape and murder but can deal with complex fraud cases.
While the group is to produce a report on the criminal courts within a year, it will soon also have to address the appeal system and the overlap in jurisdictions between the District and Circuit courts and the High Court, all of which can be courts of first instance. For example, a divorce can be initiated either in the Circuit or High Court, depending only on the amount of money involved.
Mr Justice Keane has questioned the need for the two local court systems, the District and Circuit courts. He has highlighted another area needing reform - the appeal system. A litigant can appeal a case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court of Criminal Appeal, consisting of one Supreme Court judge and two High Court members, hears criminal appeals.
Membership of the latter varies from week to week, so it has difficulty maintaining consistency. The Supreme Court is cluttered with a large number of appeals - almost 500 between September 1999 and December 2000.
While not prejudging the conclusions, the Chief Justice favours a dedicated appeal court with two wings to deal with civil and criminal matters. Constitutional issues and points of law could be left to the Supreme Court.