THE validity of thousands of District Court proceedings in a number of places over the last 2 1/2 years has been left open to challenge.
The Attorney General has advised the Government that planning permission is required for venues other than courthouses, unless hearings were taking place, in them before mid 1994. Most such venues which have come into use since 1994 - usually pubs and halls - do not have planning permission for use as courthouses because no one has considered it [necessary up to now.
Mr Dermot Gleeson's surprise opinion raises questions over about 12 venues, including bingo halls and community centres, where thousands of District Court cases have been heard over the past 2 1/2 years.
It had been expected in official circles that the use of the venues for court hearings would be considered exempt from planning regulations.
The director general of the Law Society, Mr Ken Murphy, said the advice related to "thousands" of hearings and described the situation as an "administrative shambles which must be sorted out as soon as possible".
The controversy began last week when a District Court judge sitting in a Donegal hotel threw out 250 summonses after hearing there was no planning permission for the venue to be used as a courtroom. Since then, the Department has ordered that all hearings in the county be held in proper courthouses until the situation is clarified.
Yesterday, further orders were signed by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, diverting hearings in Co Galway and Co Offaly from temporary venues to proper court buildings. More orders are expected to be signed as hearings in discos, ballrooms and community halls approach in other counties. This was described as a "precautionary" measure pending clarification of the status of all court venues.
About 100 of the 276 District Courts in the State are held in non courthouse venues, sometimes because the court buildings are being refurbished but often because no other venue has been provided. According to the Attorney General's advice, planning permission was needed for any "ballroom" venues which came into use as courtrooms since regulations introduced in 1994 required the State to obtain planning permission for its developments.
Department officials were trying to determine yesterday how many venues have been used for the first time since then. Up to a dozen are thought to be affected. While a large proportion of the cases heard in them have been relatively minor matters, such ash parking offences, more serious of licences, such as assaults, are also involved.
The Attorney General's advice leaves the validity of proceedings in such venues open to legal challenge. However legal sources suggested that a higher court is likely to consider problems over planning matters secondary to whether court proceedings were lawfully carried out before properly appointed judges. They said it was unlikely a convicted defendant could show his legal rights were damaged by the fact that his case was heard in a disco.
The Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions is expected take the matter to the High Court, seeking clarification of the status of all District Court proceedings not held in court buildings. Meanwhile, local authorities are expected to seek planning permission for any recent courts set up in non courthouse venues.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said yesterday it was seeking "clarification in relation to certain matters".