The High Court () of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

is a court which deals at

first instance First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and sits with judge and jury. It also acts as a

court of appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

for civil cases in the

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

. It also has the power to determine whether or not a law is constitutional, and of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

over acts of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and other public bodies.

Structure

The High Court is established by Article 34 of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

, 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 the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, as Article 35 dictates. However, as with almost all the President's constitutional powers, these appointments are made on "the advice of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

". 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, and additional judges being ''ex officio'' the Chief Justice, the President of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, the President of the

, 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 the

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

building in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 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.

Central Criminal Court

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: * treason, encouraging, harbouring, or comforting treason, * an offence under section 6, 7, or 8 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939, * piracy, * genocide, * a severe breach of the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

, * murder, * rape, rape under section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, and aggravated sexual assault, * burglary with intent to commit rape, and * anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of a dominant market position contrary to the Competition Act 2002. All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in front of a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

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.

Civil cases

The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil cases where the plaintiff is claiming more than

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

75,000 in damages in ordinary contract and tort claims, or

60,000 in damages in personal injuries actions, this being the upper limit of the jurisdiction of the

. 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 a

court of chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

. 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 of

over the acts of the government and other public bodies, including the decisions of all inferior courts, and decisions made by tribunals 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 the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

save as provided for by statute. The High Court also hears civil and family law appeals from the

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.

History

The current High Court is the fourth court in Ireland to bear that name. The first High Court – the

High Court of Justice in Ireland The High Court of Justice in Ireland was the court created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 to replace the existing court structure in Ireland. Its creation mirrored the reform of the courts of England and Wales five years ...

– was created by the

Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 ( 40 & 41 Vict. c. 57), often cited as the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act 1877, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brought about a major reorganisation of the s ...

. This fused the administration of

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and equity in Ireland (as had been done in England several years earlier under the

Judicature Acts In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Judicature Acts were a series of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, beginning in the 1870s, which aimed to fuse the hitherto split system of courts of England and Wales. The ...

). The existing four superior courts, the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

, Court of Exchequer, and

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

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 the

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. The

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 67) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bi ...

split the court into separate courts for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

(the

High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern I ...

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 the

Constitution of the Irish Free State The Constitution of the Irish Free State () was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,

, the High Court became the ''High Court of Justice in Saorstát Éireann''. After the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

, the

Courts of Justice Act 1924 The Courts of Justice Act 1924 () was an Act of the Oireachtas (No. 10 of 1924) that established a new system of courts for the Irish Free State (now the 26 county only Republic of Ireland). Among the new courts was the Supreme Court of the I ...

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 either

or equity. A new office of President of the High Court was established, as the previous judicial offices (

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

, and

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respon ...

) 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. This court is simply known as the ''High Court''.

Significant rulings

* 1977 – '' Norris v. The Attorney General'' (criminalisation of homosexuality upheld)Ireland was subsequently judged to be in breach of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

in ''Norris v. Ireland''. Homosexuality was legalised in the Republic by the ''Criminal law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993''. * 1987 – ''Kennedy v. Ireland'' (right to privacy)

Judges

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. 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. 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 the

may sit as an additional High Court judge and occasional other Circuit Court judges are temporarily assigned to sit ''ex officio'' as High Court judges. The Chief Justice of Ireland is additionally an ''ex officio'' judge of the High Court.

High Court judges

''Ex officio'' members

Presidents of the High Court since 1924

The office of President of the High Court was created under the

. Before 1924, the

was the President of the High Court.

Master of the High Court

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 the common-law master of the

English judiciary English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, the master in Ireland is not a judge, but rather a "

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, which can be a public administrative agency (not part of the judicial branch of government) but also a contra ...

office holder". The office of master of the High Court was established in 1926. Its functions are specified in Order 63 of the Rules of the Superior Courts. Originally, the master also had any residual powers of court officers whose posts were abolished in 1924 but whose powers were not transferred elsewhere. Although a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

rather than a judge, the master holds hearings on

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

applications. These hearings, at which

documentary evidence Documentary evidence is any evidence that is, or can be, introduced at a trial in the form of documents, as distinguished from oral testimony. Documentary evidence is most widely understood to refer to writings on paper (such as an invoice, a co ...

may be presented, are unofficially called the Master's Court. In 2008–2013, the master made 2,922 to 4,763

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

s per annum, and issued between one and four rulings. Patrick Lindsay was the master from 1975 to 1984 and Harry Hill between 1984 and 2001. Edmund Honohan was made master in May 2001. Since his retirement in April 2022, the position has been vacant with the deputy master presiding.

Sources

References

External links

High Court
–

Irish government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...

information website
High Court – Courts Service of IrelandHigh Court of Ireland Decisions
– British and Irish Legal Information Institute {{Judiciary of the Republic of Ireland, state=collapsed Courts of the Republic of Ireland Courts and tribunals established in 1924 1924 establishments in Ireland