ContentsWebFiles...The trojan efforts of the staff of the Service and the judiciary have not only kept us abreast of this work but also have reduced waiting times in many areas. However,

2 Welcome from the Chief Justice

4 Foreword by the Chairperson of the Board

7 Introduction by the Chief Executive Officer

10 Chapter 1 - Structures and Environment

26 Chapter 2 - Implementing our Mandates

70 Chapter 3 - Our Staff

74 Chapter 4 - Court Statistics

118 Reports of the Rules Committees

124 Financial Statements

134 Glossary of Terms

136 Additional information

138 Appendices

I - Circuit Court: Countrywide

II - Circuit Court: Family Law

III - Circuit Court: Average waiting times

IV - District Court: Average waiting times

1

Contents

C O U R T S S E R V I C E | A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 3

The Report is published at a timewhen I have just completed myterm as Chief Justice and as ajudge of the Supreme Court. As Ilook back on my twenty five yearsas a judge, I have no hesitation insingling out the establishment anddevelopment of the vibrantorganisation which is the CourtsService as one of the mostremarkable developments in thejudicial sphere in that time.

Many extraordinary efforts havemade this modern, young agencya success in just four years. Extraresources have been forthcomingto back up the plans andobjectives set out by the Board ofthe Service, and so expertly put inplace by a dedicated team ofmanagers and staff.

Layers of activity in everydepartment of the organisationhave seen a strengthening ofadministration systems,broadening of interaction withother justice and community

agencies, innovation in areas ofinformation provision and dealingwith the public and the media,and a definite improvement in theprovision of modern and respectfulfacilities for court users.

At the same time, staffdevelopment and training havekept pace with the great changesin the world of work andtechnology. All in all, the Servicehas simply transformed the waywe do business in organising ourcourts and facilities.

I would like to congratulate theBoard of the Service and itsChairperson Mrs. Justice SusanDenham for their innovation andachievements. I extend this praiseto the Chief Executive Officer andthe staff of the Service.

I would also like to thank mycolleague judges and the widerlegal community for their ongoingparticipation in the creation of aworld class Courts Service, andwhose efforts have made my work

as Chief Justice a very rewardingexperience.

As I retire from the Bench, I wishthe courts system well in its role asa flagship of our democracy andknow the ongoing success of theCourts Service will aid it greatly inthis vital role.

Ronan Keane

CHIEF JUSTICE OF IRELAND

2


Welcome from the

Chief Justice

I am again honoured with welcoming you to the Annual Report ofthe Courts Service. This Report has become a feature of the legalcalendar as it reminds us of the great effort which is put intoorganising our courts every day and as it also provides us with such auseful resource in terms of facts and figures.

Ronan KeaneChief Justice of Ireland

Success may be seen across thewhole gamut of the work of theService. For example, it may beseen in the building programme.Since 1999, we have refurbished30 courthouses. In March 2003,we re-opened Dundalkcourthouse, in May 2003 we re-opened Limerick courthouse andthe new courthouse in Tubbercurrywas opened in September 2003.Major maintenance and upgradingin many venues continues and theimportant work in Corkcourthouse is nearing completion.

Success may be illustrated in ourthree-year strategic plans. Everyone of the 127 projects in our firstplan was completed orsignificantly progressed before welaunched our second ambitiousthree-year Strategic Plan in 2003.

Success is evident from our five-year Information TechnologyStrategic Plan, “eCourts”. Majorprogress has been made inimplementing new informationtechnology systems across all thejurisdictions. I believe that we arenot far away from the day whenefiling of court documents will bea reality.

Case management is beingsuccessfully developed, includingthe implementation of criminal

and civil case managementsystems.

However, no matter how manycourt buildings we build orrefurbish, or how much we investin and develop informationtechnology, or how efficient thestaff of the Courts Service are,ultimately the success of theService is affected by theavailability of judges.

Over the last twenty years, therehas been an enormous increase inthe volume of cases comingbefore the courts. Also, thecomplexity of cases has increased.The trojan efforts of the staff ofthe Service and the judiciary havenot only kept us abreast of thiswork but also have reducedwaiting times in many areas.However, new buildings, moderntools, information technology andcase management cannot aloneaddress the situation. There is anurgent need for more judicialresources.

Through this, our fourth AnnualReport, you will be informed ofthe nature of the daily work of thecourts, and guided through thesignificant developments of thisyoung public service body. You willsee the many gains in courtmanagement achieved by the

partnership in the Service of thejudiciary and the staff.

The content of this Report couldonly have been dreamed of a merefive years ago, both in terms ofthe information and statisticsprovided and the reporting ofmajor developments. Despite thegreat strides we have made, wehave a way to journey yet. Manychallenges await us as we worktoward a world class CourtsService.

I have no doubt of thecommitment, energy and desire ofmy colleagues on the Bench, andof the Board of the Service, and ofthe staff of the Service, to strive tomeet the modern day challenges. Iextend my deepest appreciationfor their efforts in the last year.

Finally, I wish to thank the Ministerfor Justice, Equality & Law Reformand the staff of his Departmentfor their continued support andco-operation over the past year.

Many good wishes to all in thefuture work.

Susan Denham

CHAIRPERSON, COURTS SERVICE BOARDAND JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT

4


Foreword by the

Chairperson of the Board

Susan DenhamCHAIRPERSON, COURTS SERVICE BOARDAND JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT

The Annual Report 2003 reports the Courts Service growing anddeveloping successfully. Established in 1999, it is going from strengthto strength.

A year of tremendous effort by allis reflected in the manymodernisation initiativesimplemented and you will findplenty of evidence of a workforcecommitted to modernisation andgrowth.

The “can do” attitude of thosewho work in the Service continuesto contribute to a culture designedto deliver on many levels. Thecatalogue of developments is veryimpressive. These include thecontinued expansion of our majorbuilding and informationtechnology programmes; improvedwork methods to allow for morecustomer friendly and customercentred approaches; improvedaccess to offices and informationmaking court procedures easier tounderstand.

Throughout the Report, you willfind details of the huge volume ofwork processed by court officesand of many initiatives undertakenduring 2003. Our second three-

year Strategic Plan and our first-ever Customer Service Action Planwas launched. Our partnershipmodel continued to gain plaudits.The Service was one of four CivilService organisations chosen bythe National Centre for Partnershipand Performance as case studiesto reflect the manner in whichchange was effectivelyimplemented in a number of areasutilising a partnership approach. Inaddition, the partnership processwas extended to the regionsduring the year.

We further developed ourinformation technology systems inkeeping with the Government’s‘New Connections’ initiative andare further on the way tointerfacing with court users andcitizens through on-linemechanisms - the first suchinitiative will enable users of theSmall Claims procedure in theDistrict Court to file claims on-linein 2004. The management ofcourt funds was transformed with

the introduction of a computerisedfunds accounting system. Themanual work associated withfunds processed in court officeswas substantially reduced with theintroduction of a courtsaccounting system to a number ofcourt offices.

The improvement of the courtbuilding stock continued to behigh on our agenda as evidencedby the progress made to deliver onour capital building programme.Major refurbishments werecompleted in Limerick andDundalk and plans were welladvanced to develop a dedicatedand modern criminal courtcomplex for Dublin.

Support for our staff continues tobe a major feature of themodernisation programme of theService. Staff participation in thepartnership arrangements,business planning andPerformance Management andDevelopment System has been

7

Introduction by the

Chief Executive Officer


It is a pleasure for me to introduce our fourth Annual Report for thecalendar year 2003. The Report details the work carried out in courtoffices all around the country and highlights some of the majordevelopments in modernising the courts administration andmanagement.

P.J. FitzpatrickChief Executive Officer

complemented by enhancedgeneral and technical training;continuing access to an EmployeeAssistance Officer and theappointment of a Disability LiaisonOfficer.

Support for the judiciary has alsocontinued, especially by way ofassisting with efforts to reducewaiting times as evidenced by theimprovements in the Court ofCriminal Appeal and in the CentralCriminal Court.

Reform and developmentremained high on the agendaduring the year and is obviousfrom the many initiatives wesupported to change legislation oncourts administration and tomodernise and simplify court rulesand terminology.

We are well on the way toachieving a world class CourtsService. Already, we are beingcited as an example for others andreceive many visits each year fromsenior foreign judicial figures,government ministers and publicofficials.

This brief resumé of a year ofmajor achievement, though basedon a series of strategic documents,would not be possible withoutmajor staff involvement. The plansplot our course, identifying ourobjectives and performanceindicators, and are a vital part ofour new strategic outlook.However, the plans would remain

paper aspirations were it not forthe enthusiasm and drive of ourstaff. They have taken up thechallenge to learn new tasks, workin new environments and absorbnew techniques into already busyschedules while all the timeensuring that the core and vitalwork of the courts continuesuninterrupted. The court statisticsin Chapter 4 of this Report give aflavour of the volume andcomplexity of the business of thecourts in Ireland today. I thank allof our staff for their continueddedication to our core work andto our modernisation programme.

I also thank the Chief Justice, theChairperson and members of ourBoard and Committees and thejudiciary for their support andguidance throughout the pastyear. We do not work in a vacuumbut co-operate with manyagencies in the wider justicecommunity. I extend my gratitudeto the Bar Council, the LawSociety of Ireland, An GardaSíochána, the Probation & WelfareService, the Prison Service, VictimSupport and the many otherorganisations and agencies whoengage with the court system, fortheir continuous support.

I also thank the Office of PublicWorks and the local authorities fortheir ongoing assistance inimproving court facilitiesthroughout the country.

Finally, I extend thanks to theMinister for Justice, Equality & LawReform and to the SecretaryGeneral and staff of hisDepartment for their unstintingsupport for our efforts in the pastyear.

P. J. Fitzpatrick

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

8


2003

Chapter 1Structures & Environment

The Courts Service was establishedas an independent corporate bodyon the 9th November 1999 withthe following functions:

• To manage the courts

• To provide support servicesfor judges

• To provide information onthe courts system to thepublic

• To provide, manage andmaintain court buildings

• To provide facilities for usersof the courts

The Service has a Board consistingof a Chairperson and 16 othermembers. The functions of theBoard are to consider anddetermine policy in relation to theService and to oversee theimplementation of that policy bythe Chief Executive Officer. TheChief Executive Officer is theaccounting officer for the Serviceand has responsibility for themanagement and control of thestaff as well as the day-to-dayadministration of the business ofthe Service.

The Constitution of Irelanddelineates the powers of thelegislative, executive and judicialarms of government. It providesthat judges shall be independentin their judicial function andsubject only to the Constitutionand the law. The functions of theService do not include theadministration of justice nor is theService accountable for judicialdecisions. Members of thejudiciary participating as membersof the Courts Service Board act inan administrative capacity indetermining policies relating to thefunctions of the Service.

10


Structures and Environment

CHAPTER 1


11


The Board of the

Courts Service

CHAPTER 1


The Hon. Mr.Justice Joseph Finnegan

President of theHigh Court

The Hon. Mr.Justice EsmondSmyth

President of theCircuit Court

Mr. P.J.Fitzpatrick,Chief ExecutiveOfficer

Mr. MichaelMellett, DeputySecretary General,Department ofJustice, Equality &Law Reform, anofficer of theMinister nominatedby the Minister

The Hon. Mr.Justice JohnMurray, Judge ofthe Supreme Court

Elected by theordinary judges ofthe Supreme Court

His Honour Judge Patrick Moran Judge of theCircuit Court

Elected by theordinary judges ofthe Circuit Court

Mr. ConorMaguire,Chairman of theBar Council

Nominated by theChairman of theCouncil of the Barof Ireland

Ms. Olive Braiden

Nominated by theMinister torepresentconsumers of theservices providedby the courts

The Hon. Mrs.Justice CatherineMcGuinness,Judge of theSupreme Court

Nominated by theChief Justice inrespect of herexperience orexpertise in aspecific area ofcourt business

His Honour Judge Peter Smithwick

President of theDistrict Court

Mr. Gerard F.Griffin, Solicitor

Nominated by thePresident of theLaw Society ofIreland

Ms. Paula Carey

Nominated by theIrish Congress ofTrade Unions

The Hon. Mr.Justice John Quirke,Judge of the HighCourt

Elected by theordinary judges ofthe High Court

The Hon. Mrs.Justice SusanDenham,Chairperson, Judgeof the SupremeCourt

Nominated by theChief Justice

Judge DavidAnderson, Judgeof the DistrictCourt

Elected by theordinary judges ofthe District Court

Ms. BrendaAmond, CarlowCircuit Court Office

Elected by the staffof the Service

Mr. Gerry McCaughey, Chief Executive, Century Homes

Nominated by theMinister forrelevantknowledge andexperience incommerce, financeor administration

COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

The Board of the Service canestablish and authorise aCommittee of the Board or theChief Executive Officer to performmany of its functions or powers.During 2003, the followingCommittees dealt with a range ofissues:

Finance Committee

The Hon. Mrs. Justice SusanDenham, Chairperson

The Hon. Mr. Justice JosephFinnegan

The Hon. Mr. Justice EsmondSmyth

Judge David Anderson

Mr. Michael Mellet

Mr. Gerry McCaughey

Mr. P.J. Fitzpatrick.

Judicial Support Committee

The Hon. Mr. Justice John Murray,Chairperson

The Hon. Mr. Justice NicholasKearns

His Honour Judge DesmondHogan


Mr. Brendan Ryan.

Building Committee

The Hon. Mr. Justice John Quirke,Chairperson

The Hon. Mr. Justice IarfhlaithO’Neill

His Honour Judge Patrick Moran

His Honour Judge Michael White


Mr. Michael Durack S.C. (nomineeof Mr. Conor Maguire S.C.)

Mr. Gerard Griffin

Mr. Gerry McCaughey

Ms. Olive Braiden

Mr. Jim McCormack (replaced byMr. Shay Kirk with effect fromApril 2003)

District Court Committee

His Honour Judge PeterSmithwick, Chairperson


Mr. Gerard Griffin or nominee

Ms. Paula Carey

Mr. Diarmaid MacDiarmada

Family Law Court DevelopmentCommittee

The Hon. Mrs. Justice CatherineMcGuinness, Chairperson

Her Honour Judge JacquelineLinnane

His Honour Judge Peter Smithwick

Ms. Olive Braiden

Mr. David Bergin

Ms. Brenda Amond

Mr. Conor Maguire S.C. ornominee

Ms. Nuala McLoughlin

Mr. Diarmaid MacDiarmada

Audit Committee

The Hon. Mr. Justice JosephFinnegan, Chairperson

His Honour Judge Seán O’Leary

Mr. Tom O’Higgins (externalchartered accountant)

Mr. Gerry McCaughey

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CHAPTER 1


ORGANISATIONAL /MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

The Senior Management Teamcomprises the Chief ExecutiveOfficer and seven Directors: ChiefRegistrar and Director ofOperations for the Supreme &High Courts, Director ofOperations for the Circuit &District Courts, Director of Estates& Buildings, Director of Finance,Director of Corporate Services,Director of Human Resources andDirector of Reform &Development.

REGIONAL OFFICE STRUCTURE

There are regional offices in sevenlocations outside Dublin:Monaghan, Naas, Tullamore,Waterford, Cork, Limerick andCastlebar. The remit of theregional offices is based on theregions of the Circuit Court:Northern, Eastern, Midland, SouthEastern, Cork, South Western andWestern.

13

Organisational Chart


CHAPTER 1


P.J. Fitzpatrick,Chief ExecutiveOfficer

NualaMcLoughlin, ChiefRegistrar, Directorof Operations,Supreme & HighCourt

DiarmaidMacDiarmada,Director ofOperations, Circuit& District Court

Jim McCormack,Director of Estates& Buildings*

* retired in April2003

Sean Quigley,Director of Finance

Brendan Ryan,Director ofCorporate Services

Moling Ryan,Director of HumanResources

Noel Rubotham,Director of Reform& Development

Director of Reform & Development

CEO

Director of Human Resources

Director of Corporate Services

Director of Operations

Circuit & District Courts

Director of Finance

Director of Estates & Buildings

Board

Chief Registrar,Director of Operations

Supreme & High Court

Northern Region:

Office location - Monaghan

Counties in region - Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim,Donegal

Eastern Region:

Office location - Naas, Co. Kildare

Counties in region - Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth

Midland Region:

Office location - Tullamore, Co. Offaly

Counties in region - Laois, Longford,Offaly, Sligo, Roscommon, Westmeath

South Eastern Region:

Office location - Waterford

Counties in region - Waterford,Wexford, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow

Cork Region:

Office location - Cork

Counties in region - Cork

South Western Region:

Office location - Limerick

Counties in region - Clare, Kerry,Limerick

Western Region:

Office location - Castlebar, Co. Mayo

Counties in region - Galway, Mayo

14


Regional Areas

CHAPTER 1


15

Structure of the Courts


CHAPTER 1


Special Criminal Court

Established for the trial of offences in cases where it is determinedthat the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effectiveadministration of justice and the preservation of public peace andorder.

District Court

Court of limited and local jurisdiction organised on a localbasis.Civil Jurisdiction: Claims up to the value of €6,348.69.Family Law: Maintenance, Custody, Access and DomesticViolence.Criminal Jurisdiction includes: Non-Jury trial of offencesincluding most road traffic offences.

The Small Claims Procedure operates within the DistrictCourt.

Circuit Court

Court of limited and local jurisdiction organised on aregional basis.Civil Jurisdiction: Claims up to the value of€38,092.14 Family Law: Divorce, Judicial Separations, Nullity andother ancillary matters.Criminal: Jury trial of offences other than those triablein the Central Criminal Court.Appeal Court from the District Court in all matters.

High Court

Has full original jurisdiction in, andpower to determine, all matters andquestions, whether of law or fact,civil and criminal. Power todetermine the validity of any lawhaving regard to the Consititution.Appeal court from the Circuit Courtin civil matters.

Court of Criminal Appeal

Deals with appeals by persons convicted in theCircuit Court, Central Criminal Court or SpecialCriminal Court.

Central Criminal Court

Criminal division of the HighCourt. Tries serious crimeincluding murder offences, rapeoffences, treason and piracy.

Supreme Court

The court of final appeal. Can decide on theconstitutionality of a bill if referred to it by the President.Can determine a question of the permanent incapacity ofthe President if it arises.

Denotes Appeals Structure(This diagram is simplified for the purpose for this representation)

EnvironmentThe Service continues to operatein a constantly changingenvironment and is affected by awide range of factors, bothinternal and external. Internalfactors such as considerablemovement of staff and the needto adapt to new systems andstructures, combined with externalfactors such as changes inlegislation, social and economicissues and an increasingly stringentfinancial environment, provide theService with a varied series ofchallenges.

At the same time, the Service isever mindful of the increasingemphasis on the need for thepublic service to demonstratemeasurable achievements in areassuch as customer service, access,information, the efficient use ofresources, better regulation,improved promotion practices andperformance management.

SUPPORTING THEIMPROVEMENT OF THE PUBLICSERVICE

The determination of the Serviceto continue to be a majorcontributor to the improvement ofthe public service in Ireland isevident from a perusal of some ofthe many initiatives progressedduring 2003 and a perusal of

some of the many externalcommittees on which staffrepresent the Service:

“Sustaining Progress”

Sustaining Progress is the SocialPartnership Agreement coveringthe period from 2003 to 2004. Itoutlines an ambitiousmodernisation programme whichaims to deliver on a wide range ofchange initiatives. Considerableprogress was made during theyear to implement these initiatives,many of which had already beeninitiated by the Service. Theyinclude:

• An improved strategic planningprocess

• Improvements in humanresource management

• The development of majorfinancial management systems

• Quality customer services

• A strategic approach to theprovision of informationtechnology systems andeGovernment services

• Restatement of thecommitment to openness,transparency andaccountability, and

• Improved regulatory reform

The Agreement provides for averification process forachievement in relation to theseinitiatives and links payment ofbenchmarking and general payincreases to verification of theprogress made to implementthem. The Service prepared anAction Plan in 2003 under themodernisation provisions ofSustaining Progress which containsspecific performance commitmentswhich are regularly reviewedinternally. Additional references tothe progress made by way ofimplementing the targets set outin the Action Plan can be found inChapter 2.

The first progress Report of theService on the implementation ofthe Action Plan was submitted tothe Justice Sector PerformanceVerification Group at the end ofOctober 2003. The role of theGroup is to verify that theconditions are met for payment ofthe final two phases of thebenchmarking increases and thegeneral pay round increases underSustaining Progress. The Reportconfirmed that the Service ismaintaining good progress andcontinues to be on target with itscommitments.

16


Structures andEnvironment

CHAPTER 1


Bail system

The Working Group established bythe Department of Justice, Equality& Law Reform to reviewarrangements for theadministration of bail was in theprocess of finalising its Report atyear-end. The Service made anumber of proposals to improveefficiency of the estreatmentprocess and the warrant handlingsystem. These proposals willreduce the number of processesinvolved and considerablystreamline the system so thatthere is a greater enforcement ofestreatment orders as well as areduction in the work involved forcourt staff and An Garda Síochánain processing and trackingwarrants.

Company Law Review Group

The Company Law Review Groupis a statutory advisory expert bodycharged with advising the Ministerfor Enterprise, Trade &Employment on the review anddevelopment of company law inIreland. The Review Group wasaccorded statutory status by Part 7of the Company Law EnforcementAct, 2001. The Service isrepresented on the Group andparticipated in a number ofmatters during the year, inparticular, the deliberations anddrafting work in the area ofliquidation. At year-end, the

Service’s representative wascoordinating the consolidation ofthe winding-up provisions of theCompanies Acts as part of theGroup’s legislative reform andconsolidation project.

eGovernment initiatives

The information communicationstechnologies (ICT) revolutioncontinues to transform the waysociety lives and works. ICT istransforming the way Governmentdepartments and agencies interactwith the wider community both inthe business and individual citizensectors. The Service is committedto working with otherGovernment departments andagencies to deliver a range ofservices aimed at improving accessto information and service andstreamlining standardadministrative processes.

One such initiative is in the area ofSmall Claims. The Small ClaimsProcedure deals with claims in theDistrict Court in relation to goodsor services up to a currentmonetary value of €1,269.74. TheService is represented on aSteering Committee established tooversee the development of a pilotproject aimed at developing aSmall Claims Procedure on-line.Other agencies represented on thecommittee include the Departmentof Enterprise, Trade &Employment, the Department of

17


CHAPTER 1


Key achievements werereported to the Justice SectorPerformance VerificationGroup in respect of thefollowing matters:

• Developments in relationto customer service

• New financialmanagement andaccounting systems

• Initiatives of the WorkingGroup on the Jurisdictionof the Courts

• Developments in the areasof equality and diversity

• Implementation ofperformance managementand development systemand human resourcemanagement system

• Merit-based promotions

• Developments in respectof partnership

Justice, Equality & Law Reform,the Office of the AttorneyGeneral, the Director of ConsumerAffairs, the European ConsumerCentre and the Consumers’Association of Ireland (see page 36for further details).

Training and developmentinitiatives

In the training and developmentarea, staff of the Service continueto participate in a number ofoutside bodies and fora, includingthe Central Training andDevelopment Committee ofCMOD (the Centre forManagement, Organisation andDevelopment in the Departmentof Finance), the Customer ServiceNetwork and the CharteredInstitute for Personnel andDevelopment. The Service made asignificant contribution to theformulation of the draft policy ontraining and development in theCivil Service. This contribution hasbeen recognised by the grantingof places to the Service on anumber of committees establishedunder the policy. Furtherinformation about traininginitiatives is in Chapter 2.

Partnership

A key aspect of the developmentof the Service is the continuedemphasis on a participatory

approach to managing changeand modernisation. A CentralPartnership Committee wasestablished within a few monthsof the establishment of theService. The Central Committeecomprises representatives fromeach of the unions including theCounty Registrars’ Association (sixin total), staff representatives, theChief Executive (who chairs theCommittee), managementrepresentatives and representativesfrom the Regional PartnershipCommittees.

A distinct feature of thepartnership process in the Servicecontinues to be a steadybroadening of the range of issuesdealt with. As partnershipprocesses have developed in theService, they have dealt withfunctional, operational andstrategic issues. In this way,partnership approaches are linkedwith on-going organisationaldevelopment and modernisation.

The use of partnership hasincreased the level and quality ofemployee involvement andparticipation within theorganisation. The formalpartnership process provides animportant mechanism for fostering“employee voice”. The Service,together with three other CivilService organisations, was chosenby the National Centre forPartnership and Performance ascase studies to reflect the manner

in which change was effectivelyimplemented in several areas usinga partnership approach. Otherplaudits included an invitationextended to the Service to make apresentation at “SecondGeneration Partnership”, aconference held in Dublin Castleattended by An Taoiseach, aimedat civil servants involved in thepartnership process and unionsacross the public sector.

The Service also participates in aLearning in Organisations projectbeing co-ordinated by the NationalCentre for Partnership andPerformance.

Crime statistics

The Service is represented on agroup established by the Ministerfor Justice, Equality & Law Reformon the recommendation of theNational Crime Council to studythe current compilation methodsof crime statistics and to develop aframework for their production.

European Judicial Network

The network consists ofrepresentatives of the judicial andadministrative authorities of theMember States of the EuropeanUnion. It meets several times ayear to exchange information andexperience and boost cooperationbetween the Member States as

18


CHAPTER 1


“The capacity of the partnership processto contribute to on-going organisationalchange and development within theCourts Service was dependent on anumber of complementary factors thathave combined to create both asupportive environment and robustpartnership process”

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PARTNERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE

regards civil and commercial law.The main objective is to provideaccess to knowledge about thevarious national systems of civiland commercial law and thelegislative instruments of theEuropean Union and otherinternational organisationsincluding the United Nations, theHague Conference and theCouncil of Europe for those facinglitigation where there is a trans-national element i.e. where itinvolves more than one MemberState. Staff of both operationalDirectorates of the Servicecomprise part of the Irishrepresentation on the network.

Staff in all operational areas haveassisted in the preparation ofinformation sheets for thenetwork’s web site(http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/ejn/index_en.htm)

Promoting Diversity andGender Equality Policies

The Service is committed togender and diversity equalitypolicies, including those containedin the Review of Equality Initiativesin the Justice and Equality Sectorcarried out by the EqualityAuthority for the Justice andEquality Sector Steering Group in2003. The steps to be taken bythe Service will form part of apolicy on equality to be producedduring 2004.

CULTURE

Culture in an organisational sensecomprises the identity, informalconcepts, attitudes and values of awork force - “the way we dothings around here”. The Serviceremains committed to developingan open, transparent, participativeculture based on a high level ofstaff involvement across a widerange of initiatives includingbusiness planning, performancemanagement and cross-functionalproject teams.

An important tool in the drive topromote such a culture is thedevelopment of a strategic humanresource management (HRM)function within the Service tocreate the culture to which theService aspires - a culture wherestaff involvement is encouragedand innovation and creativityvalued. See page 28 for furtherinformation about thedevelopment of a strategic HRMfunction and Chapter 3 forinformation about the staff of theService.

LEGISLATION IMPACTING ON THE COURTS

Legislation of a primary orsecondary nature will often makeprovision for applications to court.Where it is envisaged thatlegislation will provide for the

employment of a court procedure,the Service welcomes theopportunity to make observationsas to the form of procedureproposed. Such consultationexercises allow the Service tocomment on the proceduralsolution contemplated andfacilitate liaison with the RulesCommittees of the various courtjurisdictions, who, with theconcurrence of the Minister forJustice, Equality & Law Reform,prescribe the court proceduralrules.

In 2003, the Service made asubmission to the High LevelGroup on Regulation, whosedeliberations will result in thepublication of a White Paper“Regulating Better” in January2004. The White Paper willcontribute to improving nationalcompetitiveness and bettergovernment by ensuring that newregulations - Acts and StatutoryInstruments - are more rigorouslyassessed in terms of their impacts,are more accessible to all and arebetter understood.

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CHAPTER 1


During the year the Service madeobservations on a variety ofmatters including the legalframework for dealing with ChildAbduction cases, the UnitedNations Ad-hoc Committee on therights of the disabled, the PersonalInjuries Assessment Board and theNational Spatial Strategy. TheService also provided observationson several pieces of proposedlegislation including the Courtsand Court Officers (Amendment)Bill, 2003, the Civil RegistrationBill, 2003 and the Civil Liabilityand Courts Bill, 2004.

Examples of legislative enactmentsduring the year with the potentialto impact on the work of thecourts included:

Official Languages Act, 2003

The Official Languages Act, 2003places several obligations on theService in the area of customerservice, most notably the need toaccommodate persons wishing totransact business through themedium of Irish. The Service isfully committed to meeting theseobligations. During 2003, theService conducted a review of thecapacity of court offices to providea service through Irish, with theintention that training will beprovided to address anyshortcomings. In addition, theService improved the range ofpublished material available in Irish

and increased the amount ofmaterial available in Irish on thewebsite.

Personal Injuries Legislation

The Personal Injuries AssessmentBoard Act, 2003 aims to providean alternative to litigation forpersonal injuries claims with aview to reducing the legal costsand other fees charged andreduce the amount of time it takesto finalise compensation claims.The Civil Liability and Courts Bill,to be published in early 2004, willprovide, among other matters, forprocedural and other changes inactions to recover damages forpersonal injuries.

The Personal Injuries AssessmentBoard will deal with cases whereliability is not at issue and the roleof the Board will be to assess thelevel of damages appropriate tothe claim.

FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT

The provision of substantialadditional funding since itsestablishment has enabled theService to address a number ofproblems highlighted by theWorking Group on a CourtsCommission. However, changes inthe economic environment havelimited the scope for furtherincreases in public expenditure,

thus increasing the need tointroduce and constantly reviewexpenditure in order to ensure thebest value for money.

Initiatives undertaken by theService in this area included anexpenditure review programme forthe period 2002 to 2004. Theprocess is part of an initiativeestablished by the Department ofFinance known as “TheExpenditure Review Initiative”which aims to move public sectormanagement away from thetraditional focus on inputs, andconcentrate more on the deliveryof outputs/outcomes and theachievement of intended results.During the year, and followingdiscussions with the Departmentof Finance, a sectoral review in thearea of courthouse maintenanceand capital buildings commenced.Courthouse maintenanceexpenditure and capital buildingrefurbishments are programmesthat incur significant andincreasing levels of expenditure.The review will address criticalissues such as cost control, costreduction and value for moneyand consider the managementarrangements for planned andpreventative maintenance andrefurbishment in respect of courtbuildings. This review is due forcompletion in early 2004.

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CHAPTER 1


REFORM INITIATIVES

The programme of reform initiatedin 2002 with the establishment ofa Directorate of Reform &Development tasked with co-ordinating initiatives of the Servicefor changes in legislation on courtsadministration, the modernisationand simplification of court rulesand terminology and theimprovement of practice andprocedures in court officescontinued in 2003.

Examples of the initiativescommenced and/or supported bythe Directorate during the yearincluded:

Court Rules

Draft rules for the conduct ofcommercial litigation in the HighCourt were prepared for thecommittee established by thePresident of the High Court underthe chairmanship of a judge of theHigh Court and submitted to theSuperior Court Rules Committee.(see page 118 for the Report ofthe Superior Court RulesCommittee 2003). The draft ruleswere formally approved by theRules Committee in December2003 and were expected to besigned by the Minister for Justice,Equality & Law Reform in January2004 in advance of thecommencement of the newCommercial Court (see page 38)

Court Practice and Procedure

A review of the functions andprocedures of the Examiner’sOffice of the High Court wascommenced in liaison with thejudge in charge of the Examiner’sList and with the Examiner of theHigh Court.

An internal review of the law,practice and procedure relating towardship of incapacitated adultsand minors continued during2003. (See page 31 for furtherdetails).

Committee on Court Practiceand Procedure

Assistance provided to theCommittee on Court Practice andProcedure included providinginformation in respect of theposition in the various courtjurisdictions in the course of theconsideration by the Committee ofthe appropriateness of personalinjuries litigation practices andprocedures.

The Committee, in its 28th Reportpublished in October 2003,recommended that a RulesCommittee Support Unit beestablished within the Directorateof Reform & Development toprovide a support and liaisonfunction for the Rules Committeesof the Superior, Circuit and DistrictCourts.

THE WORKING GROUP ON THEJURISDICTION OF THE COURTS

The Service continued to provideadministrative and researchsupport to the Working Group onthe Jurisdiction of the Courtsduring 2003. The Group presentedits Report in July 2003 followingthe completion of deliberations onthe first module within its terms ofreference, the criminal jurisdictionof the courts. The Reportrepresented the most extensiveexamination of the criminaljurisdiction of the courts since thefoundation of the State and madea range of recommendationsconcerning the operation of thecriminal courts in Ireland, includingmatters such as the summary,indictment and appellatejurisdictions, the criminal processand statistics.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Service continues to berepresented on the Steering Groupestablished by the Minister forFinance to coordinate and monitorthe implementation of therecommendations of the Report ofthe Working Group on theAccountability of SecretariesGeneral and Accounting Officers(The Mullarkey Report). TheAccounting Officer for the Serviceis the Chief Executive. He isresponsible for the funds voted tothe Service by the Oireachtas.

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CHAPTER 1


The Service produced an actionplan during the year as part of itsstrategy in compliance with therecommendations contained in theMullarkey Report. Progress madeduring 2003 in relation to theimplementation of the actionsoutlined in the action planincluded the following:

• An Audit Committee wasestablished and held a numberof meetings during the year;

• A review of internal auditrequirements was completed;

• A new Financial ManagementSystem was implemented inJune 2003. This is a crucialelement of the ManagementInformation Framework, theimplementation of which isalso a key recommendation inthe Mullarkey Report;

• Work commenced on thedevelopment of a riskmanagement framework. Riskmanagement will beembedded into the businessplanning process covering allaspects of the functions of theService;

• Work was undertaken duringthe year to evaluate theinternal financial controls ofthe management of votedfunds and financial operationsin Circuit and District Courtoffices;

• A Statement on InternalFinancial Controls was includedin the Appropriation Accounts(Annual Financial Statistics) for2003.

Management InformationFramework

Management InformationFramework (MIF) is one of themain management reformsenvisaged in Delivering BetterGovernment and is an integralpart of the Strategic ManagementInitiative. The view is that existingfinancial systems do not providemanagement with relevant,accurate and timely informationon performance and trends andthat new systems are required thatwill support the wider financialmanagement process for planningresource allocation, managementcontrol and budgeting, day-to-dayfinancial reporting and assessingperformance.

The new Financial ManagementSystem (FMS) referred to on page41 implemented in June 2003forms a major part of theframework. While the new FMS isan important building block withthe potential to deliver manyefficiency benefits, the MIF isabout delivering enhancedfinancial and non-financialmanagement information tosupport planning andmanagement. By the year-end theService was embarking on aconsultation exercise with a viewto introducing MIF systems andwas on target to produce its firstprogress report in mid-2004.

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CHAPTER 1


The funds voted to theService amounted to €92m in2003. This representsapproximately 10% of thetotal value of all financialtransactions. There are some€830m in funds held in trustby the courts, primarily inrespect of Minors and Wardsof Court and a further €70m,approximately, in respect offines, fees, family law and bailtransactions. In reviewing theissues identified by theMullarkey Report, the Servicewill take account not just ofthe €92m in Voted Funds butalso all other financialtransactions processed by theService and its offices insupport of the operation ofthe courts.

Report of the Working Groupon the Accountability ofSecretaries General and

Accounting Officers

July 2002

KOSOVO COURTRESTRUCTURING PROJECT

The Service, at the request of theUnited Nations, nominated theDirector of Reform & Developmentto participate as a member of ajoint United StatesGovernment/Council of EuropeCourt Restructuring Project Teamcharged with preparing acomprehensive scheme for a newjudicial system in Kosovo. At year-end the report of the Project Teamwas in the final editing stage.

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CHAPTER 1


Statistics to note from 2003:

• 39 murder cases received by the CentralCriminal Court, a decrease from 55 in 2002

• 52 rape cases received by the Central CriminalCourt, a decrease from 82 in 2002

• 2,970 divorce applications granted in the Highand Circuit Court, an increase of 15% from 2002

• 406 jury trials completed involving over 4,872citizens serving as jurors

• 102,325 licensing applications dealt with

• 3,571 second level students visited the FourCourts

• 32,000 people accessed the website every month

• approximately 4,000 media queries dealt with

24

2003

Chapter 2Implementing our Mandates

They have implemented newprocedures and participated inpartnership committees dealingwith many issues affecting thework environment while ensuringthat the core work of the Service,supporting the operation of thecourts, has continueduninterrupted. This cooperationhas been complemented byimproved working conditions, theprovision of informationtechnology systems and greaterdevelopment opportunities in anumber of areas includingtraining, mobility and theintroduction of a PerformanceManagement and DevelopmentSystem (PMDS).

ADVANCING THE STRATEGICMANAGEMENT PROCESS

A new Strategic Plan waspublished and distributed by theService early in the year. The Planuses the various areas within the

statutory remit of the Service tochart an ambitious range of goalsand objectives for the next threeyears. The various offices of theService continue to implement thestrategies set out in the Planthrough annual business plans.

TRAINING INITIATIVES

The drive to ensure that the skillsand competencies required for theeffective operation of the Serviceare identified and made availablethrough targeted training andeducation programmes continued

during 2003. Training events andinitiatives organised during theyear included workshops andseminars for County Registrars,the Senior Management Team,Principal Officers, AssistantPrincipal Officers, Higher ExecutiveOfficers/Court Clerks, ExecutiveOfficers/Junior Court Clerks, StaffOfficers and Clerical Officers.Following on from these events, anumber of DevelopmentProgrammes commenced for allgrades.

Information TechnologyTraining

Progress continued withinformation technology trainingfor both judges and staff. TheEuropean Computer DrivingLicence (ECDL) is a comprehensiveprogramme where participantsengage in a series of computercourses in matters such as wordprocessing, database creation andspreadsheet techniques. A pilot

26


Managing the Courts

CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

The foundation underpinning the modernisation programme of theService to date has been a stable industrial environment where staffhave demonstrated considerable flexibility and willingness toembrace a range of new developments.

Staff have implemented newprocedures and participatedin partnership committeesdealing with many issuesaffecting the workenvironment while ensuringthat the core work of theService, supporting theoperation of the courts, hascontinued uninterrupted

evening programme leading to theECDL qualification continued inDublin during the year. Eveningprogrammes on ECDL are on-going in Limerick, Cork, Wicklow,Galway and Castlebar. A pilotprogramme for judges willcommence in January 2004.

A support programme for theCriminal Case ManagementSystem commenced for staff in theDublin District Court office duringthe year. By year-end, an e-learning tool which will be used todeliver the programme was beingdeveloped for the system, a firstfor the Service. A Train the Trainersprogramme was delivered for theCriminal Case ManagementSystem Project Team in December.Training for regional trainers willcommence in January 2004.

Performance Management andDevelopment System training

Training for the third phase of thePerformance Management andDevelopment System (PMDS) wascompleted during 2003. Thetraining was accompanied by thepublication of guides for leadersand participants.

Specialist training

Specialist training programmescontinued during the year andincluded project management,human resources, finance,Freedom of Information,publishing and legal seminars. Aspecialised accounting trainingcourse for District Court staff wasdevised and delivered inconjunction with the roll-out ofthe Courts Accounting computersystem (see page 40).

Probate Office training

The Probate Office devised twotwo-day training seminars for staffin the 14 Regional Probate DistrictRegistries during the year. Inaddition to providing training, theseminars, delivered by staff of theProbate Office, afforded anopportunity to review the businessprocesses in various offices and tointroduce consistency in dealingwith customers. A common querysheet was compiled for use in alloffices and each participant wasprovided with a training manual.The Probate Office intends toprovide County Registrars withrefresher courses in probateprocedure during 2004 and asimilar course will be delivered tothe staff of the Office of theGeneral Solicitor for Minors andWards of Court and the Office ofWards of Court.

COURT REGISTRARS

Training for High CourtRegistrars

During the year, the training ofHigh Court Registrars was placedon a more structured basis.Mentoring was provided by aretired Registrar of the SupremeCourt and on-the-job coachingand training by existing seniorRegistrars. A familiarisationprogramme was put in place fornew Registrars assigned to work inthe High Court. A seminar will beheld in January 2004 at whichsenior Registrars will givepresentations to their lessexperienced colleagues and aretired Judge of the SupremeCourt will give the keynoteaddress. Work continued on theproduction of training manualsand templates for the productionof standard form court orders.

Training for Circuit CourtRegistrars

Work commenced on theproduction of manuals outliningcivil procedures and providingdetailed information for CircuitCourt registrars during the year. Atyear-end, templates for theproduction of standard formCircuit Court Family Law Courtorders were being finalised.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

Training for District CourtRegistrars

A draft BusinessProcedures/Training Manual forDistrict Court Registrars, togetherwith details of court orders andcirculars, was prepared during theyear. An analysis of the formal in-house training needs of staff wasconducted and the appropriatetraining courses for court registrarsin the Dublin Metropolitan Districtwas undertaken, encompassingeighteen half-day sessions.

DEVELOPING A HUMANRESOURCES STRATEGY

On page 19, reference is made tothe development of a StrategicHuman Resources Managementfunction within the Service. Thisfunction will seek to create aculture within the organisation ofhigh staff involvement; whereinnovation and creativity is valued;and where technical and skillstraining particularly for court-going staff is prioritised, eitherthrough training or directrecruitment. The Human ResourcesManagement function will be todesign a strategy to implementsuch a culture throughout theorganisation.

Work commenced during the yearon the development of a HumanResources Strategy in line with thecommitment in the Strategic Planof the Service and as specified inthe Sustaining Progress ActionPlan. This project will continue in2004 utilising the partnershipprocess to assist with thedevelopment of a strategy whichwill cover such matters asdevolution of responsibility andaccountability, equality, diversity,training, recruitment andretention, mobility, partnershipand performance. In particular, theStrategy will seek to embed thePerformance Management andDevelopment System (PMDS)throughout the organisation in thespirit in which it is intended tooperate.

A computerised Human ResourcesManagement System for theService commenced operation inOctober. Major benefits arisingfrom the implementation of thesystem include more accurate anddetailed information in relation tostaff, the capacity to generatemore and better reports on issuessuch as absenteeism which willfacilitate better management ofresources and an interface withthe central system called CENSIS,operated by the Department ofFinance to monitor a range ofstaffing issues.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

The ultimate outcome of thestrategic Human ResourcesManagement function is tocreate a culture where stafffeel fully involved and areequipped with the skills andknowledge necessary to dotheir jobs effectively. The keyhuman resources processes ofrecruitment, training, andperformance managementhave a major role to play inachieving this outcome.

Benefits of new computerisedHuman ResourcesManagement System:

• Availability of morerelevant and timelymanagement information

• Ability in due course tointeract with both thePayroll and CENSIS returns

• Capacity to record alltraining provided by theService together withqualifications and relevantpersonal data

A staff handbook, officiallylaunched by the Chairperson ofthe Board in early 2003, wasupdated during the year toaccount for changes in regulationsrelating to staff issues and as aresult of feedback from staff andmanagers.

At year-end, the preparation of amanagers’ handbook was welladvanced. The handbook will dealwith a range of issues includingannual leave, sick leave, flexitime,work sharing, term time, careerbreaks, parental leave and bullyingand harassment.

SUPPORTING THE PARTNERSHIP PROCESS

On page 18 the composition ofthe Central Partnership Committeeis outlined. It comprisesrepresentatives from each of theunions, including the CountyRegistrars’ Association (six intotal), staff representatives, theChief Executive (who chairs theCommittee), managementrepresentatives and representativesfrom the regional partnershipcommittees. The representation ofthe Committee seeks to reflect abalance in respect of grade,gender and geographic location.Regional partnership committeeswere also established in each ofthe seven regions. A committeefor Dublin was also formedtowards the end of the year.

The Service has not sought toprescribe or restrict the partnershipagenda and this has been a majorfactor in the success of the processto date. The range of issuesbrought within the ambit of thepartnership framework has beenbroadened in consultation withother stakeholders, particularly thetrade unions. The widening of themembership of the CentralPartnership Committee in 2003facilitates the discussion ofregional issues as part of theprocess.

USING THE PARTNERSHIPAPPROACH

Issues dealt by partnershipcommittees in 2003 included:

• Customer Service

• Health & Safety

• Induction

• Exceptional PerformanceAwards

• Performance Management and Development System

• Teleworking

• Regional Committees

• Car Parking

• “Sustaining Progress”Action Plan

• HR Strategy

• Training and Development

• Internal Communications

• Bail Refunds

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SERVICE

Implementing the CustomerService Action Plan

The provision of a qualitycustomer service to the public hasbeen a key component of themodernisation programme for theIrish Civil Service since thepublication of Delivering BetterGovernment in 1996. This wasalso emphasised in the Programmefor Prosperity and Fairness andSustaining Progress agreements.

The Service has activelyparticipated in a range ofGovernment initiatives andprogrammes aimed at improvingthe quality of the service providedto all users of the courts. The first-ever Customer Service Action Planof the Service was published atthe end of 2002 and presented tothe Minister for Justice, Equality &Law Reform in early 2003. ThePlan, developed using thepartnership structure andfollowing extensive consultationboth internally and externally, waslaunched by the Chief Executiveon a regional basis.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

It is most important that the quality ofservice provided by every office isdelivered in an efficient, effective andsensitive manner

During the year, theimplementation of the seventy-three distinct objectives in the Planwas a major focus. A partnershipsub-committee on customerservice was established withrepresentatives from all grades inboth Dublin and provincial officesand held its first meeting inSeptember 2003. A qualitycustomer service officer wasappointed together with customerliaison officers nominated by courtoffices in Dublin and theprovinces.

The design of a new programmeof customer service training tosupport the implementation of theCustomer Service Action Plan wascompleted in mid-2003. A seriesof pilot training sessions of theprogramme, which placesparticular focus on front line staff,was delivered. The one-dayprogramme, which will commencein January 2004, will cover face-to-face communications,telephone techniques and dealingwith difficult customers.

Other initiatives included theintroduction of a customercomplaints procedure. Aleaflet/complaint form waspublished and distributed. TheMission Statement of the Servicewas printed in English and Irishand is on display in the offices ofthe Service.

A customer forum in Dublin wascomplemented by a number ofother such fora established byregional managers around thecountry to enable the Service toliaise with the many users of thecourts on a wide range of mattersaffecting them.

At year-end, work on thepreparation of a Customer Charterwas at an advanced stage. Otherissues which will be consideredduring 2004 include telephoneservice, dress code and officeopening hours.

Legal Diary

The Service continues to make theLegal Diary available in both hardcopy and on the websitewww.courts.ie The hard copyversion is available from externalprinters on a daily basis uponpayment of an annual subscriptionfee. The Diary is available on thewebsite free of charge.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

Customer Service Action Plan

The Plan highlights theimportance of respecting theprivacy and dignity of thecustomers of the Service withspecial emphasis on:

• Timeliness

• Courtesy

• Informing the customer

• Consulting with thecustomer

• Providing feedback

One of the primary objectivesof the Customer ServiceAction Plan is to reinforce thecustomer service aspect of themodernisation programme ofthe Service.

Using technology to improveservice

In September, a live television linkwas used in the High Court tohear an application to approve anoffer of settlement in a case wherethe plaintiff in a personal injuryaction had been repatriated to theUnited States and taken intoWardship. The use of the live linkallowed the court to consider andapprove the settlement offerwithout delay and enabled theparties to make a considerablesaving in costs.

The use of live television linkscontinued in October andNovember when the High Courtheard expert medical evidencefrom England and Scotland. Bydoing so, trials which wouldotherwise have been adjourned, orwould have required to bespecially fixed were disposed of,and again there was aconsiderable saving in costs.

The Central Criminal Court sittingin Limerick heard evidence byvideo link in December. Thisrepresented the first-ever use ofvideo link evidence outside ofDublin and involved the giving ofevidence by a child witness.

Reform

Initiatives during the year toimprove and modernise courtpractices and procedures includedan internal review of the law,practice and procedure relating towardship of incapacitated adultsand minors. The review wasundertaken by the Registrar ofWards of Court, the GeneralSolicitor for Minors and Wards ofCourt and the Director of Reform& Development.

In the course of the review, theLaw Reform Commissionpublished a consultation paper onthe law of the elderly, whichcontains preliminaryrecommendations inter alia, forrevision of the definition ofgeneral legal incapacity, thereplacement of the Wards ofCourt system by a tribunal and anoffice of public guardian, and newremedies for the protection oflegally incapacitated andvulnerable adults. The Serviceprepared and submitted aresponse to the consultation paperfollowing consultation with thePresident of the High Court andintends to continue to liaise asappropriate with the Law ReformCommission in connection withthe formulation of its finalrecommendations.

DEVELOPING FAMILY LAWCOURT SERVICES

Family law hearings

The Service continues to ensure, inconsultation with the judiciary,that all family law matters aredealt with, as far as practicable,separate from other court businessand in a manner sensitive to thenature of the business. The HighCourt continues to hear family lawcases separately to other civil casesin a dedicated family law list. Inthe Circuit Court, family law casescontinue to be dealt with on daysseparate to the rest of the courtbusiness. In the case of the DistrictCourt, while family law cases havetraditionally been dealt with at thebeginning or end of the ordinarylist, considerable progress hasbeen made in separating familylaw cases from the rest of thework of the courts. In Dublin andCork, District Court judgescontinue to be assigned on a full-time basis to family law courts anddeal exclusively with such cases. Inmany District Courts, dedicateddays have been allocated to familylaw (see page 32).

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

Circuit Court Family Law Court

Section 47 of the Family Law Act,1995 allows for the provision ofsocial reports relating to thewelfare of parties in family lawproceedings by the Probation &Welfare Service or a health board.In line with the recommendationsof the Family Law CourtDevelopment Committee,arrangements were put in placeduring the year for a pilot projectin the Dublin Circuit Family Courtfor the provision of Section 47Reports.

A new information technologysystem was installed in the CircuitCourt Family Law office during theyear to assist with the productionof orders of the court and alsocapture meaningful statisticalinformation. The Law Society ofIreland agreed to assist in thecompilation of this information byrequesting solicitors to completean information form toaccompany the issue ofproceedings in the Circuit CourtFamily Law office.

IMPLEMENTING THEINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYSTRATEGIC PLAN

The implementation of the keystrategies outlined in the five-yearinformation technology strategicplan titled “eCourts” published in2001 continued during the year.Progress can be summarised acrossthree specific categories asfollows:

• Infrastructural-based

• Application-based

• Business-based

Key to the deployment of thestrategic applications identified inthe plan was the implementationof a modern communicationsnetwork linking all offices of theService nationwide into a singlecorporate network. The project toimplement the network, “ProjectGateway”, was implemented intwo phases and introduced a localand wide area networkinfrastructure based on the mostmodern technical platformavailable. This implementation hasenabled the Service to providestaff and the judiciary nationwidewith modern word processing andother products such as the abilityto create databases andspreadsheets as well as providingaccess to e-mail and webbrowsing. These developmentsfacilitate rapid communication and

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

DISTRICT COURT VENUESWITH SITTINGS DEDICATEDTO FAMILY LAW

DistrictCourt NumberNumber Venue of Sittings

3 Ballina Monthly16 Bray Monthly15 Carlow Monthly3 Castlebar Monthly*21 Clonmel Monthly*20 Cobh Monthly19 Cork Twice weekly1 Donegal Monthly6 Drogheda Monthly

Dublin Daily6 Dundalk Monthly12 Ennis Monthly20 Fermoy Monthly7 Galway Monthly22 Kilkenny Monthly13 Kilmallock Monthly1 Letterkenny Monthly14 Limerick Weekly13 Listowel Monthly20 Mallow Monthly20 Midleton Monthly9 Mullingar Monthly16 Naas Monthly*10 Navan Monthly13 Newcastlewest Monthly15 Portlaoise Monthly2 Sligo Monthly10 Trim Monthly9 Tullamore Monthly22 Waterford Monthly3 Westport Monthly*23 Wexford Monthly* 21 Youghal Monthly

* in certain venues, while the day is notentirely dedicated to family mattersbecause of volumes, the day isarranged so that family lists are heardseparately.

information dissemination acrossthe organisation and allow theService plan for the deployment ofstrategic applications in the future.

During the year, the Servicecompleted the procurement of acomprehensive support service toensure the availability, reliabilityand integrity of informationtechnology systems. The matter ofsecurity practices and procedureswill be audited and reviewed in2004. An exercise to procuresupport for the Criminal CaseManagement System was on-going at year-end.

The process of consultation toundertake a formal review of“eCourts” was completed duringthe year. The review will ensurethe continued relevance of thetechnologies and strategies chosento meet the requirements of thebusiness of the Service. A groupcomprising several principalofficers was established to conductan internal review of informationtechnology strategy generally andto make recommendations forfuture strategies. The Group willreport to the Senior ManagementTeam in mid-2004.

PROVIDING NEW INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A programme of development ofstrategic applications such as theCriminal Case ManagementSystem, financial applications andothers continued in 2003.

Computers in the Courtroom

Computers were introduced into anumber of additional courtroomsof the Dublin Metropolitan DistrictCourt including: Court 50(Richmond Hospital), Court 55(Children’s Court, Smithfield), DunLaoghaire District Court andCloverhill District Court. They werealso provided in courtrooms inLimerick District Court. Theintroduction of the computers hasresulted in greater efficiencies inrecording the results of cases andin the production of after-courtdocumentation.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

“The successful implementation of amajor information technologyprogramme where all staff are nowusing e-mail and modern officeproductivity tools and communicatingwith practitioners electronically wasunheard of just four years ago”

P.J FITZPATRICK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

COMPUTERS IN THECOURTROOM - AN INITIATIVEMAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE

A computer was installed in everycourtroom in which the HighCourt sits during the year inaccordance with the SustainingProgress Action Plan of theService. The computers are allequipped with silent key boards tominimise disruption of courtbusiness and to ensure that theservice provided by court registrarsto the judiciary and practitioners isnot in any way adversely affected.

Each High Court registrar can usethe computer to log on to theHigh Court case tracking systemand the Legal Diary on the websiteto up-date court lists for thebenefit of the judge and forpublication in the Diary. The factthat all court lists are available onscreen to registrars has effectedthe single biggest change in theregistrar’s working life in livingmemory and has greatly reducedthe time required for publicationof Masters Court lists and lists tofix dates of which practitionersalways require as much notice aspossible.

Registrars now use the e-mailapplication to transmit up-datedlists to the Legal Diary Team forposting on the website andtransmission to the printers forpublication in the Legal Diary -Printed to which manypractitioners subscribe. The e-mailapplication also allows registrars toremain in contact with theirmanager, with each other andwith the public Central Office.

The computers also allow theregistrars to draft and perfectcourt orders on screen in court. Upto 30% of all orders are producedand perfected in this way, andmany more are drafted and sentby e-mail to support staff forprinting. On-screen draftingfacilitates the registrars sharingprecedents with each other andallows them to benefit from theelectronic document library ofprecedents to which they all haveaccess.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

ROLL-OUT OF CRIMINAL CASEMANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The roll-out of the Criminal CaseManagement System to theremaining offices of the DistrictCourt around the country will takeplace during 2004.

ENHANCEMENT FOR PENALTY POINTS/ROLL-OUT

In advance of the fullimplementation of the penaltypoints system under the RoadTraffic Act, 2002, offences relatingto speeding, wearing of seat beltsand driving without insurancehave been deemed to be offenceswhich attract penalty points. Tofacilitate the automatedimplementation of penalty points,the enhancement of the CriminalCase Management Systemcommenced during the year. Thisincluded the development of aninterface between the System andthe Department of Environment &Local Government’s Driver Licencesystem to facilitate the electronictransfer of details of convictions towhich penalty points refer. Thespecifications for an electronicinterface between the CriminalCase Management System and AnGarda Síochána’s Penalty Pointssystem have been agreed anddevelopment work on theseinterfaces will commence in 2004.

In advance of the development ofthe necessary interfaces, a manualsystem was introduced during theyear whereby District Court officesensure that the Department ofEnvironment & Local Governmentis informed of any convictioninvolving penalty point offences.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

Penalty PointsOffence General description of offence Operative date

Offence by a driverunder Article 7 (3)Road Traffic(Construction,Equipment and Use ofVehicles)(Amendment)(No. 3) Regulations,1991

Driver permitting aperson under 17 yearsto occupy rear seatwhen not wearingsafety belt or childrestraint

25th August 2003

Offences by a driverunder Article 6 RoadTraffic (Construction,Equipment and Use ofVehicles) (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulations,1991

1. Driver failing towear a seatbelt

2. Driver permitting aperson under 17 yearsto occupy front seatwhen not wearingsafety belt or childrestraint

25th August 2003

25th August 2003

Offence under Section56 Road Traffic Act,1961

Using a vehicle withoutinsurance

1st June 2003

Offence under Section47 Road Traffic Act,1961

Exceeding a speed limit 31st October 2002

DEPLOYING ELECTRONICDELIVERY OF SERVICES

Civil Case Management System

A number of interim solutionswere implemented to meetspecific business requirementspending the implementation of acorporate Civil Case ManagementSystem. All provincial Circuit Courtoffices, with the exception ofLetterkenny and Cork, wereprovided with a system by the endof 2003. Performance of thesystem in Dublin improvedconsiderably due to substantial re-design which now forms the basisof the new roll-out to provincialoffices. A separate system wascompleted for use in Family Lawof the Dublin Circuit Court.

Small Claims on-line project

The Steering Committeeestablished to oversee thedevelopment of a pilot project todevelop an on-line small claimsprocedure whereby consumerclaims in respect of complaintswhich currently come within thescope of the procedure can lodgeclaims over the Internet continuedits programme of work during theyear. The Committee, chaired bythe President of the District Court,completed the required analysisphase of the project. At year-end,work had commenced on theactual development of the system.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1

The Service is committed to cooperatingfully with the further development andimplementation of eGovernment policyas outlined in “New Connections”, theGovernment’s Action Plan to realise thepotential of the Information Society.

CRIMINAL CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Rolling-out to the entire country

The introduction of this system, which streamlines the input andproduction of information to benefit both staff and customers, is animportant development in the on-going modernisation process of theService. Since its introduction in Dublin and Limerick, the CriminalCase Management System has had a major impact on the work of theDistrict Court which deals with 95% of all criminal cases. The systemcan track the full life cycle of a criminal case and a road traffic case inthe District Court. Users can create and result cases, appeals, judicialreviews and set asides; record bail and legal aid details; receipt fines;print warrants, summonses, legal aid certificates and a whole array ofother documents and reports.

Searching is possible on almost every aspect of a case created and allinformation is stored centrally allowing viewing of cases listednationwide. Security features ensure that access to modify data islimited and a suite of statistical queries removes the need to manuallycollect statistics. Data can be collected centrally, providing the Servicewith the best technical solution to fulfil its present requirements whileopening avenues to evolve the system if the business environmentchanges.

At year-end, the system was ready for roll-out to District Court officesaround the country. Enhancements were being developed to allow forthe electronic transmission of information to and from An GardaSíochána and the Department of the Environment & LocalGovernment.

The system will be implemented inthe Dublin Metropolitan DistrictCourt in mid-2004 extending tothe public on an on-line basis laterin the year. The necessaryamendments to the District CourtRules to allow for e-Small Claimswere approved by the DistrictCourt Rules Committee andsigned by the Minister for Justice,Equality & Law Reform inSeptember.

Examining the potential ofvideo conferencing technology

A Committee was established bythe Minister for Justice, Equality &Law Reform early in 2003 toexamine the potential of videoconferencing technology withregard to the conduct of criminaland civil trials. The Committee,chaired by Mrs. Justice SusanDenham of the Supreme Courtand Chairperson of the CourtsService Board, comprisesrepresentatives of the Service, theDepartment of Justice, Equality &Law Reform, the Prison Service, AnGarda Síochána, the AttorneyGeneral’s Office, the Bar Counciland the Law Society. It is expectedthat the Committee will furnish aninterim report to the Minister inearly 2004.

It is expected that the remit of theproject will be extended toexamine the feasibility ofintroducing a corporate video

conferencing system which wouldbe sufficiently scalable toincorporate future corporaterequirements and the extension ofthe system to the civil courts.

Implementation of DigitalRecording in selectedcourtrooms

A pilot project was established in2003 for the introduction ofdigital audio recording, initially inthe Circuit and Central CriminalCourts. Significant investigation ofthe potential for digital audiorecording was undertaken,including visits to installationsimplemented in the UnitedKingdom. A number of optionsare available for implementingsuch recording on a pilot basisinitially. These include a completemanaged service basis wherebythe selected service provider wouldbe responsible for the installationof the system and the provision oftranscripts and the Service wouldpay on a usage basis thus avoidingupfront capital costs andoutsourcing the risk associatedwith the implementation of thesystem. A project board for theproject will be established in early2004.

eConveyancing Project

The Service has extendedcooperation to the Law ReformCommission’s e-ConveyancingProject. This project is comprisedof three elements, concerned withadministrative, procedural andsubstantive legal aspects ofconveyancing respectively, and isoverseen by the Commission’sWorking Group on e-Conveyancing. The Service isconcerned specifically with theadministrative strand, whichinvolves examination of theemployment of information andcommunications technology inconveyancing transactions and therole of the public bodiesconcerned in providing services orinformation to facilitate suchtransactions. Information andcommunications technology isconsidered as a key enabler ofchange in this area, the ultimateaim being to facilitate paperlessconveyancing transactions throughan on-line portal.

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CHAPTER 2

Mandate 1Overview ofinformationtechnology projects in2003:• Criminal Case

Management system:system enhancements andapplication support;

• Courts Accounting system:software development;

• Funds Accounting system:software development;

• Support and maintenanceservices:helpdesk maintained,hardware and softwaremaintained.

The Service is represented on theAdministrative Sub-Group of theWorking Group on e-Conveyancing. The Servicemaintains a range of registers ofinformation relating to matterssuch as judgments and courtproceedings, bankruptcy ordersand grants of probate which areimportant inputs into theconveyancing process. It will benecessary to have those registersavailable on-line to meet the aimof paperless conveyancingtransactions.

The Service has, in consultationwith the Law Reform Commission,incorporated in its information andcommunications technologystrategy plans the provision ofaccess via the Internet to relevantcourt registers open to publicinspection. Information on thevarious registers maintained, andthe statutory provisions applicableto them, was collated during 2003and a consultation exercise wasconducted with the operationalareas concerned, to establish theorder of priority, by reference toutility, frequency of use and otherrelevant factors, according towhich manual registers should beconverted to electronic format.

Commercial Court

At year-end, the first CommercialCourt in Ireland, aimed at offeringa specialised approach to thedisposal of commercial litigation inline with jurisdictions in leadingeconomies elsewhere, wasscheduled to commence hearingcases in January 2004. The Court,which will in fact be thecommercial list of the High Court,will enable commercial litigation tobe tried by judges having aparticular expertise and experiencein commercial law and to providea case management regime forappropriate cases.

Work carried out during 2003 byway of preparation for thecommencement of the new courtincluded the provision of atechnology enabled courtroomwhich will facilitate digitalrecording of proceedings, thepresentation of evidenceelectronically and, where required,the hearing of evidence remotelyby video conferencing. The newcourt will contribute significantlyto the commercial and legalinfrastructure available to thebusiness community and followsother major developments,including the InternationalFinancial Services District and theDigital Hub complex in Dublin

NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR THEMANAGEMENT ANDINVESTMENT OF COURT FUNDS

Since the establishment of theService, the issues surrounding themanagement and investment ofcourt funds have been affordedhigh priority. Very significantprogress has been made inbringing about a majortransformation in the approach tomanaging these funds. At year-end, there was some €830m incourt funds. These include fundsmanaged by the courts on behalfof persons who are Wards ofCourt and Minors and lodgmentsin court cases.

Technology

In July, the introduction of a newmodern computerised fundsaccounting system marked anhistoric change in the way courtfunds are managed and accountedfor. The Accountant’s Office of theHigh Court transferred its manualaccounting systems to the newsystem (AGRESSO) thus endingmany years of administering thefunds using a paper-based ledgersystem. The deployment of thetechnology involved wasaccompanied by a significantprocess re-design and re-structuring of the operations ofthe Accountant’s Office. The newsystem will provide key

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Information Technologyrelated expenditure

Year Amount €m

2000 6.337

2001 7.287

2002 8.467

2003 6.480

improvements in theadministration of court fundsthrough enhanced service delivery,security and transparency and willalso support new investmentstrategies. It will also facilitateimproved accountability throughthe publication of audited annualfinancial statements in respect ofthe management of the funds. It isalso planned that beneficiaries willreceive an annual statement oftheir funds in court.

Fund Managers

Supporting the modernisationprogramme for the managementof court funds, which is one of themost significant in the history ofthe courts in Ireland, was theappointment of investmentadvisors and fund managers toensure that these funds aremanaged in accordance with bestpractice in a way that best meetsthe requirements of individualbeneficiaries. Following an EUcompetitive tendering process, theService appointed Bank of IrelandAsset Management and StateStreet Global Advisors as jointfund managers in early 2003. Fournew unitised funds have beenestablished to meet the specificrequirements of court funds andthese have been approved by theIrish Financial Services RegulatoryAuthority. Each of these fundscontains varying amounts of assets

classes (cash, bonds and equities)designed to meet therequirements of beneficiaries. Thefirst tranche of court funds, some€150million, representing funds ofWards of Court, was invested inthe new strategies in earlyDecember 2003.

Governance Arrangements

The Investment Committeeestablished as part of thegovernance arrangements tooversee the implementation of thenew arrangements for themanagement and investment ofcourt funds continued to meetduring 2003. The Committee hasjudicial representation from theHigh, Circuit and District Courts. Italso has representation from theOffice of Wards of Court,Accountant’s Office, CountyRegistrars and the Chief Clerks inthe District Courts. There is also anindependent expert on theCommittee. In addition to this, thefinancial statement of theAccountant of the Courts ofJustice is audited by independentexternal auditors and submitted toboth the Minister for Justice,Equality & Law Reform and theMinister for Finance in accordancewith the Superior Court Rules.

Establishment of Central Funds Office

The Service continues to worktowards the establishment of aCentral Funds Office to assumeresponsibility for the centralisedmanagement of funds controlledby the various court jurisdictions.Proposals for legislation requiredto put the Central Funds Office ona proper footing were beingaddressed at year end.

Dormant Funds

Legislation dealing withapproximately €7m in dormantaccounts in the High Court isincluded in the Civil Liability andCourts Bill to be published in early2004. Court funds, primarily thoserelating to persons who are Wardsof Court or Minors, may beclassified as dormant if there havebeen no transactions on them fora period of 15 years.

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IMPROVING COURTSACCOUNTING ACTIVITIES

Courts Accounting System

The programme to develop andimplement a computerised courtsaccounting system to enable theService to account for and manageall monies and financial activitiesgenerated through the operationof the courts continued in 2003.

The benefits to court officesaround the country as a result ofthe introduction and developmentof a computerised accountingsystem are substantial and wideranging (see panels on this page).The system currently being usedfor the new funds accountingsystem (AGRESSO), referred to onpage 38, is also being developed,as a separate project, to handlefinancial matters dealt with by theDistrict Courts such as receipt andpayment of family lawmaintenance, collection of fines,fees and bail. The roll-out pilot ofthe first phase of the new systeminvolving family law maintenancewas successfully completed withthe system extended to fouradditional offices by the end of2003, a total of six offices.

In addition to automating theprocesses associated with thesefinancial areas and thus achievingbetter utilisation of resources andimproved customer service, thenew system will enable a numberof eGovernment initiatives to beimplemented. This will include afacility to pay fines over theInternet.

Phase two of the project will dealwith accounting processes such as:fines, fees, bail and poor box. Itwill be necessary for theseprocesses to interface with thenew Criminal Case ManagementSystem to be rolled-out during2004 (see page 36).

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Benefits of computerisedaccounting system:

• More efficient processingof all accountingtransactions and, inparticular, high volumetransactions such as familylaw receipts andpayments;

• Computerising apreviously manual, labourintensive system ofaccounting which hadremained unchanged fordecades;

• Improved, and moretimely, managementinformation on thevolume, type and status ofaccounting transactionsprocessed by court officeswith the Service;

• Enhanced customer servicewith the introduction ofgreater choice forcustomers as to how theytransact business with thecourts. For example, arange of payment optionsfor persons owing finesincluding credit card, viathe Internet, etc., will beprovided;

• Integration with theCriminal CaseManagement System.

The computerised accountingsystem will supporteGovernment initiatives asfollows:

• Payment of fines via theInternet;

• Payment of court fees viathe Internet;

• Payment of family lawmaintenance electronicallyinto and out of bankaccounts. It is now alsopossible for a personowing maintenance to payit into Court electronicallyusing a standing orderwith his/her bank;

• Refund of bailelectronically.

Financial Management System

Improved financial management isa key objective over allGovernment departments andoffices and is also a requirementof the Government’s StrategicManagement Initiative (SMI) andManagement InformationFramework (MIF) (see page 22).The objective of the Framework isthat all departments and officeswill have enhanced systems inplace by the end of 2004 to givethem better information whichthey will use to assess progress onperformance and on the use ofassociated resources.

The Service introduced a newfinancial management system inJune 2003. The new system is anintegral part of the Government’sManagement InformationFramework and will significantlyimprove access to timely andquality financial information, theabsence of which was a seriouslimitation on the efforts of theService to introduce modernfinancial management practices.The new system (Oracle) is amodern accounting system thatrecords all financial transactionsfor the voted funds of the Service.It also provides for eGovernmentinitiatives namely eProcurementand on-line processing andapproving of both invoices andtravel and subsistence claims.

The system was implemented as amulti-agency initiative, led by theDepartment of Justice, Equality &Law Reform and also involving thePrison Service and An GardaSíochána.

The system was piloted within anumber of sites during the yearand it is intended to continue theroll-out to other offices during2004.

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Benefits of the new FinancialManagement System include:

• The provision of moreaccurate, detailed andtimely financialmanagement information

• Supporting thedevolvement of budgets toRegional Managers andHeads of Offices

• Combining both financialand non-financial, giving amore complete picture ofcourt operations andsupporting the carryingout of value for moneyreviews

• Enabling theestablishment andmonitoring of performanceindicators.

• Processing travel andsubsistence claims on line

• Improved level of financialreporting across all areasof expenditure

• Reducing time and effortinvolved in thecompilation of theAppropriation Account ofthe Service (AnnualFinancial Statistics)

RE-ORGANISATION OF DISTRICTCOURT DISTRICTS AND AREAS

The Board of the Service approveda recommendation from theDistrict Court Committee thatDistrict Court areas be revisedhaving regard to demographicchanges that have occurred sincethe last revision in 1926. Insummary, the re-organisationinvolves, where practicable,aligning Districts with countyboundaries, aligning District Courtoffices with District Court Districtsand eliminating the disparitiesbetween Districts on the westcoast and Districts on the eastcoast. At year-end, arrangementswere being made in consultationwith the judges to have the re-organisation implemented.

Amendments to District Courtdistricts and areas and variationsof sitting days are effected bystatutory instrument. During theyear, a number of statutoryinstruments were signed by theMinister for Justice, Equality & LawReform amalgamating a numberof venues and amending sittingdays. Details of these statutoryinstruments are on page 43.

PROVIDING A SERVICE INDIFFERENT LANGUAGES

The Service is committed toadhering to the provisions of theOfficial Languages Act, 2003. Areview of the capacity of staff incourt offices to conduct businessthrough Irish was completedduring the year. Offices inGaeltacht areas continue toprovide a service through Irish andthe Service provides interpretersfor court proceedings in Irish. Inaddition, a number of publicationsof the Service are available in Irishand a substantial amount ofinformation is available in Irish onthe website.

For those court users whose firstlanguage is neither English or Irish,the Service continues to provideinterpreters in a wide variety oflanguages. Information leafletswere published in Mandarin andCantonese Chinese in 2003 and itis intended to extend the range ofsuch publications in 2004. Furtherinformation is on page 52.

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District Court DistrictAreas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Elphin, Roosky &Strokestown) Order,2003

375/ 2003 Amalgamation of Elphin& Roosky withStrokestown

1/9/03 4

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Collooney, Sligo,Ballymote & Riverstown)Order, 2003

374/ 2003 (a) Amalgamation ofCollooney with Sligoexcept for DEDs ofCarrownaskeagh,Coolaney & Lisconny,

(b) additional sitting ofDistrict Court at Sligo onthird Wednesday in eachmonth

(c) incorporation of DEDs ofCarrownaskeagh &Coolaney into DistrictCourt Area ofBallymote,

(d) incorporation of DED ofLisconny into DistrictCourt Area ofRiverstown

1/9/03 2

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Adare &Rathkeale) Order, 2003

60/2003 Amalgamation of Adarewith Rathkeale

26/2/03 13

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Shanagolden,Rathkeale & Listowel)Order, 2003

13/2003 Amalgamation ofShanagolden withRathkeale andadditional sitting ofDistrict Court atListowel on fourthTuesday in each month.

1/2/03 13

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Drumcollogher &Newcastlewest) Order,2003

8/2003 Amalgamation ofDrumcollogher withNewcastlewest

1/2/03 13

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Killmallock)Order, 2003

7/2003 Additional sitting ofDistrict Court atKillmallock on firstMonday in each month

1/2/03 13

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment)(Callan & Kilkenny)Order, 2003

3/2003 Amalgamation ofCallan with Kilkenny

1/2/03 22

District Court Districts &Areas (Amendment) &Variation of Days &Hours (Galway) Order,2003

2/2003 Additional scheduledsitting on the thirdThursday in each monthat 12.00 noon (ChildrenCourt only)

15/1/03 7

TITLE S.I. NUMBER PURPOSE OF ORDER DATE ORDER BECAMEEFFECTIVE

DISTRICT NUMBER

PARTICIPATING ININTERNATIONAL FORA ANDINITIATIVES

Staff of the Service participated ina number of events aimed atimproving cooperation andincreasing an awareness ofdevelopments elsewhere. Staff ofthe Office of Wards of Courtjoined colleagues from Scotlandand England & Wales at a seminarin Belfast to discuss reform of thelaw on Wardship in NorthernIreland and at a seminar inScotland attended byrepresentatives of the PublicGuardians Office in Scotland, thePublic Guardianship Office forEngland & Wales and the Office ofCare and Protection in NorthernIreland.

The Service supported the firstEuropean Day of Civil Justice inOctober. The event, organisedjointly between the EuropeanCommission and the Council ofEurope, aims to raise awareness ofcitizens’ rights in the civil justicearea. It is intended to make this anannual event with informationcampaigns and events organisedto increase knowledge of civiljustice and improve access to it.

An information leaflet prepared bythe Service was distributed on theday at several court venues,together with leaflets and bookletsdealing with the operation of the

civil law system in Ireland and inother European Union countries.

Meetings with colleagues in theCourts Services in England,Northern Ireland and Scotlandcontinued during the year todiscuss developments on a widerange of topics. Colleagues invarious parts of the United Statesof America, Canada, Australia andother parts of the world continueto provide much valued sources ofinformation for staff of theService.

WELCOMING VISITORS FROMABROAD

Opportunities to exchange ideaswith colleagues from othercountries were also facilitated via aseries of visits hosted by theService during the year. In March,the Master of the Rolls of England& Wales led a delegation from theCivil Justice Council on a visit tothe Service which included a visitto the Chairperson of the Board.Other visitors during the yearincluded a group from Scandinaviaand a group from Canada led by ajudge of the Court of Appeal inOntario.

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The Service continued to provideadministrative support to thejudiciary during 2003 through theoffices of the Judicial SupportUnit. It also providedadministrative support to theJudicial Appointments AdvisoryBoard, the Judicial Studies Instituteand the Judicial SupportCommittee.

THE IRISH JUDICIARY

Jurisdiction andLegislative position Number serving

Supreme Court8 including the Chief Justice 8High Court30 including the President * 30Circuit Court31 including the President 30District Court53 including the President 52Total 122 120* 30 when the President of the Law Reform

Commission is a High Court Judge, as iscurrently the case

The total number of serving judgesin all four court jurisdictions -Supreme Court, High Court,Circuit Court and District Court -as of 31st December 2003 was120.

ASSISTING THE JUDICIALAPPOINTMENTS ADVISORYBOARD

Advertisements for judicialvacancies were published innational newspapers and legalpublications during the year.Events aimed at introducing newlyappointed judges to theadministrative functions of theService were organised, with anemphasis on the support servicesavailable for members of thejudiciary. Staff of the JudicialSupport Unit coordinated thepublication of the first AnnualReport of the JudicialAppointments Advisory Boardwhich was presented to the

Minister for Justice, Equality & LawReform in June 2003.

ASSISTING THE JUDICIALSTUDIES INSTITUTE

The Service continued to workwith the judiciary during the yearto identify, in a structured manner,the appropriate resources in termsof support, accommodation andfunding for training required bythe judiciary.

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The judiciary constitutes the judicial organ of Government pursuantto the provisions of the Constitution. A primary role of the Service isto provide administrative support for the judiciary in the exercise ofits powers and functions.

ASSISTING THE JUDICIALSUPPORT COMMITTEE

The Judicial Support Committee ofthe Board considered a range ofissues during the year and isexpected to report to the Board inmid-2004. Among the issuesconsidered was the matter ofsecretarial support for High Courtjudges.

JUDICIAL SUPPORT UNIT

The Unit continued to providecomprehensive support to thejudiciary during the year. Inaddition to providing support forjudges in Ireland, the Unitfacilitated visits of foreigndelegations from numerouscountries including the CroatianSupreme Court, the AlbanianSupreme and District Courts andthe Superior Court of Justice ofOntario. An extensive programmewas arranged for judges fromHungary who visited under thePhare-Twinning Programmedesigned to provide informationon EU law for accession countries.

At year-end, work was welladvanced on the preparation of aninformation booklet for judgescontaining information on theirconditions of service and otherrelevant information. The bookletis being prepared in cooperationwith the Department of Justice,

Equality & Law Reform, theDepartment of Finance and thePresidents of each court.

ASSISTING THE JUDICIARY TOREDUCE WAITING TIMES

The Service continued to improvethe working relationship andcommunication process betweenthe judiciary and staff of theService in a number of ways,including supporting variousinitiatives taken by the judiciary inmatters such as waiting times incourts where such waiting timesexist:

Supreme Court

The decision to dispense with liststo fix dates and assignresponsibility for fixing dates forhearing to the Registrar of theSupreme Court when cases areready for hearing continued toyield dividends in 2003. As ofDecember 2003, the waiting timefor an appeal to be listed forhearing was less than fourmonths.

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Mandate 2Reducing waitingtimes: Court ofCriminal AppealDuring 2003, the Court ofCriminal Appeal sat for anextra 44 days. Courts werealso specially convened tohear three conviction appealslasting 2, 4 and 7 daysrespectively.

Throughout 2003, there werecontinuous efforts made tomaximise the number ofappeals heard by using courttime that became available asa result of adjournments orwithdrawal of cases toaccommodate cases awaitinghearing. Problem cases werealso actively monitored andmanaged in an effort to getsuch cases ready for hearingand to ensure that anyancillary applications, such asadditional evidence deemednecessary by the applicants’legal representatives, wereidentified and processed.Priority cases continued to beaccommodated where thecourt was of opinion that anurgent hearing was necessaryin order to avoid any injusticeto the applicant.

For the first time in threeyears and as a direct result ofthe additional sittings, allconviction cases appearing inthe list to fix dates inDecember 2003 and whichwere ready for hearing weregiven hearing dates betweenJanuary and April 2004.Therefore, the average waitingtime for appeals in 2002/2003conviction cases where allnecessary papers were lodgedwithin time by the solicitorswas reduced to approximately12-14 months.

For further information aboutwaiting times in the Court ofCriminal Appeal, see page 75.

Central Criminal Court

For the first time in the history ofthe State, the Central CriminalCourt sat in Limerick in July 2003in an effort to reduce waitingtimes. The hearings were designedto expedite the hearing of murderand rape cases in the Limerickregion. The Central Criminal Courtcontinued to sit in Limerick,resulting in significant savings tothe State in relation to An GardaSíochána, Prison Service, witnessexpenses, travel, subsistence andsecurity arrangements.Arrangements included theprovision of rooms for An GardaSíochána, witnesses, VictimSupport and facilities for themedia.

Average waiting times in theCentral Criminal Court werereduced from 18 months to 12months during the year. Thisfollowed the assignment of fourHigh Court judges to permanentduties in the court and theintroduction of a number ofprocedural changes which haveimproved the administrativeprocess leading to a trial.

In addition, the President of theHigh Court, in consultation withthe judges of the High Court,arranged five additional sittings ofthe Central Criminal Court inDublin for the entire month ofSeptember. During the month, atotal of 25 cases were listed for

trial. These included 7 murdertrials, 17 rape trials and 1 sexualassault trial. Additional registrarswere assigned from the HighCourt to the Central CriminalCourt which is staffed by theCircuit Court office to assist withthe additional courts. A trainingprogramme for High Courtregistrars took place in Septemberto increase the number ofregistrars proficient in theoperation of the Central CriminalCourt.

Dublin Metropolitan District Court

Additional family law hearingswere arranged in February, Marchand August with special sittingsarranged in Dun Laoghaire andSwords as required. A test PenaltyPoints court was arranged in Aprilwith the President of the DistrictCourt presiding and attended byAn Garda Síochána.

SUPPORTING INITIATIVES INRELATION TO JUDICIAL CASEMANAGEMENT

Commercial Court

On page 38. reference is made tothe plans underway at year-endfor the establishment of aspecialist regime for commerciallitigation in the High Court, in theform of a dedicated list orinformal division designed to offera specialised approach tocommercial litigation in line withjurisdictions in leading economiesaround the world. Apart fromvarious classes of commercialdispute within its ambit, theCommercial Court will be availablefor the determination of judicialreviews and appeals fromregulatory decisions which, fromtheir commercial or any otheraspect, are deemed by theCommercial Court judgeappropriate to be entered into theCommercial Court list.

Under the new regime, casemanagement by a judge will beavailable for litigation where,having regard to the complexity ofthe case, the number of issues orparties, the volume of evidence, orother special reason, supervision ofthe conduct of the case prior totrial would be warranted.Preparation of proceedings for trialwill be facilitated by a pre-trialconference, for which a pre-trial

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questionnaire will require to becompleted. The proceduralarrangements will enable the courtto provide an opportunity to theparties at an early stage to avail ofalternative dispute resolutionmechanisms, such as mediation orarbitration.

Other lists

Special listing arrangements weremade in the High Court during theyear for categories of litigationrequiring them. A separate list forRefugee Act cases wasestablished. Judicial reviews inplanning and environmental casescontinue to be dealt with by aspecially assigned judge, as areCompetition Act cases. The needto provide for special listingarrangements for the disposal ofparticular types of litigation is keptunder continual review by thePresident of the High Court.

SUPPORTING THE JUDICIARY IN ITS WORK

Improving library and researchfacilities

The Service continued to provide acomprehensive range of libraryand research facilities for judgesand staff during the year. A majorevent was the re-location of theJudges’ Library to newaccommodation in Áras UíDhálaigh adjacent to the FourCourts. The additional spaceprovided by the new library affordsa number of advantages. Thestock of approximately 20,000volumes was completely re-organised into a more logicalsequence. The new arrangementof materials is more user friendlyand facilitates the provision ofguidance and training by librarystaff to users, including newjudicial researchers.

The library is now a moreattractive place to visit with bothcomfortable seating and researchstations. Computers are availablefor use by visitors to the librarywhich facilitates both access to theelectronic subscriptions of thelibrary and work on research,enabling readers to save to theirnetwork accounts. Staff of thelibrary are available on site, ifrequired, to provide assistancewith use of electronic services andthe resources as a whole.

It is intended to proceed with theimplementation of the ElectronicLibrary Management System,UNICORN, during 2004 which willfacilitate a hugely improvedcatalogue and loans system andwill permit enhanced services.

Enhancing informationtechnology services available tothe judiciary

The analysis phase for the designof a new judges’ Intranet wascompleted during the year. Atyear-end, a prototype of the newsystem was ready to bedemonstrated to both the re-design sub-committee and theJudges’ Intranet Committee.Features include discussion areas,news flashes, links to precedentjudgments and relevant legislation,IT support - hints and tips, and anadministration area fordownloading a range ofinformation.

Development work on theSupreme Court CollaborativeWorking Project was alsocompleted during the year. Atyear-end, the system was in thefinal testing phase with plansagreed for user acceptance testingand training to commence in early2004.

The first phase of the SupremeCourt Technology Project, theelectronic display of documents

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within the courtroom, proceededon schedule during the year. Ademonstration of the workingprototype was made to the sub-committee of the Supreme CourtTechnology Committee. This phasewill provide for the lodgment ofthe Book of Appeal and Book ofAuthorities, from both parties to acase, electronically on CD-Rom. Amaster CD-Rom will subsequentlybe distributed to all partiesinvolved and to the judgesinvolved, who will be able to viewand annotate documents both forsharing and for private use. At thehearing of the case, documentswill be displayed within thecourtroom on stand-alone laptopcomputers.

All network points in judges’chambers in Dublin and thegreater Dublin area were linkedthrough the courts network duringthe year.

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PILOT DRUG COURT

The pilot Drug Court, the first ofits kind in Europe, was conceivedin response to the high andincreasing number of drug relatedoffenders presenting in the Irishjustice system in the mid-1990s.The Drug Court model for Irelandwas influenced by best practice inother jurisdictions, particularly inCanada and the United States,and was developed as a multi-agency initiative, the intentionbeing to adopt a holistic approachin dealing with the participants.The programme was instigated toprovide a workable alternative tocustodial sentences for certaincategories of drug offenders, withthe main goals being to reducethe criminal offending of theparticipants along with reducingtheir addiction or drugdependency.

Initially confined to Dublin’s innercity, the pilot Drug Court wasextended and expanded with theconcurrent development of a DrugCourt planning programme. Thiswas to allow for research anddevelopment in advance of anywider roll-out of the Drug Courtwhile continuing and expandingthe current pilot programme tofurther test and refine theemerging model and to addressdifficulties as they are identified. InJuly, two participants were addedto the list of graduates from theprogramme. By year-end, the DrugCourt had been extended to thefull Dublin 7 catchment area andparts of Dublin 3.

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For many, it is not possible toattend the public sittings of courtsto familiarise themselves with theoperation of the legal system yet itis likely that at some stage everycitizen will have cause to be in acourt - as a witness, a juror,making an application to thecourt, answering a charge ordealing with the probate of a will.

The Service recognises theimportance of facilitating theunderstanding of theadministration of justice, not justfor those who have a directinteraction with the courts and theService, but also for the generalpublic. It is widely acknowledgedthat a public which is wellinformed on the working of courtsis likely to have a greater respectfor the institution that is thecourts and its vital work in a freesociety.

ASSISTING THE PUBLIC TOUNDERSTAND THE OPERATIONOF THE COURT SYSTEM

The programme designed toimprove the range and quality ofinformation available continuedduring 2003. Information bookletsand leaflets continue to providemuch requested information andalso serve to highlight the rangeof services provided by courtoffices around the country.

Supreme Court

A book titled “The Supreme Courtof Ireland - a history” publishedduring the year provides muchuseful information on the highestcourt in Ireland. All aspects of theSupreme Court including itsposition in our legal system;interesting insights into the manylocations enjoyed by the Irishcourts prior to finding a home inthe Four Courts; comprehensiveinformation about current and

former Chief Justices; and detailsof many seminal cases heard bythe Supreme Court are covered inthe book.

High Court

A booklet dealing with the matterof Wards of Court published someyears ago was substantiallyupdated and widely circulated. Inhis foreword, the President of theHigh Court emphasised thebenefits of the booklet for familiesand advisors of those in respect ofwhom Wardship proceedings arebeing considered.

At year-end, a booklet dealingwith the work of the Office of theGeneral Solicitor for Minors andWards of Court was nearingcompletion.

The new investment policy for themanagement of court funds wasexplained in a booklet publishedduring the year. The booklet setsout the background to the

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It is an important element of the drive to ensure fairness for thecitizen and an acceptance and understanding of court decisions thatthe courts are open and accessible to the public.

A well informed public leads to publicconfidence in courts and public respectand support for the justice system

development of the policy andoutlines the strategies proposed toreflect the differing needs ofbeneficiaries.

A leaflet for accessing theelectronic version of the LegalDiary on the website was preparedand widely circulated. It wasaccompanied by a notice whichwas circulated by e-mail, publishedon the website and posted in theFour Courts informing users ofchanges in the production of theLegal Diary on the website (seepage 56).

District Court

A major project was undertaken inthe Dublin Metropolitan DistrictCourt to produce a range ofinformation leaflets on a variety oftopics. Several leaflets werepublished during the year withmany others nearing completionat year-end. The published leafletsincluded:

• Payment of court fees

Designed in a simple format, thisleaflet goes through theprocedures involved in paying andobtaining refunds of court fees. Italso refers to the payment ofexcise duty.

• The Children’s Court

This leaflet offers an explanationof the procedure within the courtin relation to offences, sentences

and alternative remedies. Itprovides practical informationabout the opening hours of theChildren’s Court office in Dublin.

• Swords and Balbriggan DistrictCourts

A practical guide providinglocation, court and otherinformation about these northDublin courthouses.

Providing information indifferent languages

There are many users of the courtsin Ireland today for whom Englishis not their first language. Aproject designed to makeinformation available in a range oflanguages commenced during2003.

The leaflet outlining the SmallClaims procedure already availablein English and Irish will bepublished in Mandarin andCantonese Chinese in early 2004.Versions of the leaflet in otherlanguages including French,Spanish and Russian will beavailable later in the year.

Providing information indifferent formats

In addition to the publication ofmaterial in hard copy format, theService continued work during2003 on the enhancement of thewebsite (www.courts.ie) (see page56). The major programme ofwork will ensure that the new siteadheres to best practiceaccessibility guidelines. Material inaudio format will be madeavailable during 2004 withconsideration also given topublishing material in CD-Romand DVD formats.

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HERITAGE

The second leaflet in the heritageseries of leaflets was publishedduring the year focusing on Naascourthouse. The leaflet containshistorical information,comprehensive architectural detail,accounts of famous trials anddetails of refurbishment andrenovation works carried out inthis major court building inKildare.

BROCHURES

A brochure to acknowledge thecontribution of Circuit and DistrictCourt judges appointed to serve inGalway since the foundation ofthe State was published on theoccasion of the official opening ofa permanent photographicexhibition in Galway courthouse inMay 2003.

The official opening of thecourthouse in Dundalk 2003 wasacknowledged in a brochurecombining historical informationwith details of the majorrefurbishment work carried out,acknowledging the project teamincluding the architects andengineers and containing detailsof serving judges and court staff.A similar brochure was preparedfor the opening of Limerickcourthouse in May 2003.

CATALOGUE

A comprehensive Guide to allpublications of the Service wasupdated in 2003. The cataloguewas produced using in-housedesktop publishing facilities anddistributed extensively.

DISPLAYING MATERIAL

The provision of display units of astandard type and varietycontinued during the year. Apartfrom improving the accessibility ofinformation for the public, theunits assist to promote the logoand identity of the Service.

EDUCATING FOR THE FUTURE

A visit to a court building on anorganised tour continues to be aparticularly beneficial way forpeople to familiarise themselveswith the operation of the courtsystem. While the majority of visitsare from school groups, theService facilitated visits from manyprofessional groups during theyear including journalists, nurses,teachers, community workers andlocal authority employees.

The popularity of the school tourprogramme in particular continuedunabated during 2003 withnumbers increasing each term. Thenumber of schools participating inthe programme increased by some35% over the year with thenumber of pupils increasing byalmost 25%.

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“Facilitating theadministration ofjustice in a changingsociety”Wall planners and calendarshelp to highlight majordevelopments such as therefurbishment of courtbuildings around the country.The 2003 wall plannerhighlighted the extensiveworks carried out on Limerickand Dundalk courthouses andincluded a slogan written by amember of staff and selectedfollowing a competition inCourts Service News, thenewsletter of the Service.

The tour programme, combinedwith the Mock Trial Competition,offers students a broad-basedintroduction to the court system.In addition to the Four Courts,tours are now available in anumber of courthouses includingLimerick, Tralee, Cork and Naas.

The Service continues to supportthe National Mock TrialCompetition for transition yearstudents in second level schools.The Lord Mayor of Dublinattended at the Four Courts towelcome the entrants for the2003 competition.

The Service commenced work in2003 on a collaborative projectwith the Law Society of Irelandand the Bar Council of Ireland inconjunction with the Civic, Socialand Political Education SupportTeam of the Second Level SupportService of the Department ofEducation and Science to providea range of course material invarious formats for the Civic,Social and Political EducationCurriculum for second levelschools.

A number of transition yearstudents were facilitated withwork experience projects using theformal policy in place in theService.

The Service continued to maintainand further develop workingrelationships with the Law Schoolsof a number of universitiesincluding University College Corkand Trinity College Dublin.

PRESENTATIONS ON THE WORK OF THE COURTS

Staff of the Service continued toengage with the wider communityto educate the public on theoperation of the courts systemduring the year:

Wards of Court

The Registrar of Wards of Courtgave a series of lectures on Wardsof Court matters to bodies such asthe Law Society of Ireland inDublin and Cork in addition toassisting with the provision ofmaterial on enduring powers ofattorney to the Society.

Assisting new barristers

An initiative aimed at providingnewly qualified barristers withuseful advice about both courtand office procedures in the HighCourt was continued. Staff of theService gave a presentationdealing with the operation of thepublic computer system whichincluded advice on how to locateand track the progress of civilcases and information about therole and functions of the courtregistrar.

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The Eastern Regional Officecommenced a school visitorprogramme in Naas in 2003modelled on the programmein operation in the FourCourts. The courthouse, aparticularly historic one, hasbeen a feature of the town forhundreds of years and hashosted many interesting trialsand been used in the makingof many television and filmproductions. Students areafforded an opportunity tolearn more about the courtsoperating in the town andreceive a behind-the-scenesbriefing on how the Irishcourt system works.

Organised visits to the FourCourts

Year 2003 2002

Number of schools/colleges 132 98

Number of tours 150 120

Number of students3321 2654

(plus 250 (plus 200 teachers) teachers)

SUPPORTING INITIATIVES BYOUTSIDE AGENCIES

The Service continues to consultregularly with a wide range ofcommunity groups, supportorganisations and otherGovernment agencies to identifymaterial available to explain theoperation of the legal system.Where appropriate, and as ameans of avoiding unnecessaryduplication, the Service continuesto promote the informationproduced by these outsideagencies.

An example of this during 2003was the promotion by the Serviceof publications by the Office of theDirector of Public Prosecutionsoutlining the role of the Directorand providing information forpeople attending court as awitness. Another booklet providedinformation for parents involved inthe separation/divorce process.The booklet, published by theFamily Law and Civil Legal AidCommittee of the Law Society ofIreland, is intended as a guide tohelp couples who have childrenand who are going through aseparation or divorce process, toprovide the best outcome for theirchildren. The Service continues toactively promote OASIS (On-lineAccess to Services, Informationand Support), an eGovernmentwebsite developed by Comhairle.The site, which can be accessed at

www.oasis.gov.ie, providesinformation on the social and civilrights of people in Ireland andcontains comprehensiveinformation on the operation ofthe legal system.

The Service supported a numberof conferences during the yearaimed at raising awareness ofissues affecting the administrationof justice in Ireland. Display standswere provided and staffed at aconference organised by the IrishAssociation for the Study ofDelinquency in Ireland and at aconference organised as part ofThe National Adult LiteracyAgency’s awareness week, thetheme of which was “Literacy as abarrier to the legal/justice system”.

IMPROVING STATISTICS

The absence of statisticalinformation in an understandableformat was one of the informationgaps highlighted by the WorkingGroup on a Courts Commissionprior to the establishment of theService. Public policy formationcannot be effective withoutdetailed and relevant statistics. Thedetermined effort being made toimprove the range and quality ofstatistical material available isevidenced by the wealth ofinformation published in AnnualReports since the establishment ofthe Service. Much of this material

has been made available for thefirst time.

By harnessing the resources ofseveral of the offices of theService, including the InformationTechnology Division, theInformation Office and courtoffices around the country, theService has identified userrequirements across all courtjurisdictions in the areas of civil,criminal and family law with theintention of incorporating theminto the development ofinformation technology systems.

A tendering exercise will beundertaken in 2004 to procure asingle reporting tool to providestatistical and managementinformation from the variousinformation technology systemsoperating in court offices.

Measures continued to be takenby the Service during the year toimplement quality assuranceprocedures to assist in ensuringthe accuracy of data. Thesemeasures include arranging formodifications or enhancements toapplications aimed at improvingdata quality. In this regard, it isintended to establish StatisticsFora in the Supreme & HighCourts and the Circuit & DistrictCourts early in 2004 to carry outmajor examinations of theprocedures operating for thecollection of statistics. The remit ofthe Fora will be to identify the

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adequacy of the statisticalcategories and informationcurrently collected by court officeswith a view to producing a revisedstatistical reporting template foreach office. The appraisal exercisewill ensure that appropriatemeasurement criteria are used to(a) capture all business conductedby the office and (b) accuratelyreflect case volumes, productivityand timeliness in case disposal.

PUBLISHING STATISTICALINFORMATION

The Service continues to releasestatistical data on a range ofmatters relating to the work of thecourts. In 2003, a Bulletincontaining historical data inrespect of domestic violenceapplications in the DublinMetropolitan District Courtincluding barring orderapplications for the years 1976-2001 and protection orderapplications for the years 1991-2001 was published, togetherwith figures for 2002. This was inline with a recommendation of theMonitoring Committee of theFamily Law Recording Project,approved by the Board of theService, that information on theoperation of the family law courtsand, in particular, historicalstatistical data to illustrate trendsin family law over the years,should be published.

DEVELOPING A HIGH QUALITYMEDIA SERVICE

Public interest in the working ofthe courts and legal affairs ingeneral continues to increase. Formost people, information on theoperation of the courts system isobtained via reports in the printmedia and on radio and television.In 2003, the Service continued toassist the media to report on casescoming before the courts. Duringthe year, the Media RelationsService dealt with a wide range ofqueries on a varied range of topicsincluding the outcomes of casesand dates of upcoming cases.

The provision of information ondevelopments in the Servicecontinues to form an importantpart of the work of the MediaRelations Service. Press Releasesduring the year informed themedia of upcoming events such asthe opening of refurbishedcourthouses, updates on buildingprojects and details of thecompletion of major informationtechnology projects.

The Media Relations Servicecontinued its relationship with thecolleges which teach journalismand provided seminars andtutorials about reporting on thecourts.

DEVELOPING THE WEBSITE

The range of information availableon the website increased duringthe year while the improvement inquality was assisted by thewillingness of court office staff toreview current information andprovide additional material on avariety of topics. An example ofthis drive was in the DublinMetropolitan District Court wherestaff reviewed all web pagesrelating to the court and providedadditional information relating to anumber of areas including theDrug Treatment Court.

The Service replaced delivery ofthe Legal Diary by e-mail duringthe year with a downloadableform of the Diary which is postedin MSWord format and in PDF tothe website every evening. Thisallows users print off pages theyrequire for use in court and also tocheck the following day’s courtlisting the evening before. Thesuccess of the exercise can begauged by the continued increasein the number of visits to the sitesince the Legal Diary becameavailable on-line. (See page 57).

A major programme to re-launchthe website was nearingcompletion at year-end. The new-look site will have many additionalsections such as one dedicated toschools and one focusing onmatters of heritage and historicinterest. It will also contain

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“Readability is a definite asset of thissite. The careful, well laid out andspaced structure allows visitors to easilydigest the site’s content.”

PUBLIC SECTOR WEBSITE AWARDS 2003

judgments of the courts, in thefirst instance judgments of theSupreme Court and the Court ofCriminal Appeal. Additionalsections will include information inIrish, a glossary of frequently usedlegal terms, improved informationabout the administrative work ofthe Service and information aboutcourt offices around the country.An important feature of the new-look site will be greatly enhancednavigability and adherence toguidelines on accessibility forpeople with disabilities.

FACILITATING THE OPERATIONOF THE FREEDOM OFINFORMATION ACT, 1997

The Service remains committed toensuring the effective operation ofsystems and arrangements fordealing with all matters comingwithin the ambit of the Freedomof Information Act.

During the year, a Freedom ofInformation Guide was publishedoutlining the structures andfunctions of the Service. TheGuide provides information on theclasses of records held andexplains the procedure for makinga request under the Act. Some ofthe records held by the Service areroutinely available to the publicand will continue to be availablewithout the need to make aformal request under the Act.

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Requests receivedunder the Freedom ofInformation Act, 1997

2003 2002

Access granted/part granted 10 11

Refused/records restricted under section 46(1) (b) 5 10

Handled outside theAct/withdrawn 39 59

Transferred 1 0

Total number of requests 55 80*

* included 2 internal reviewapplications

Website statisticsMonth Number of visits

December 2001 15,000December 2002 26,000December 2003 32,000

This investment ensures that courtbusiness can be conducted insurroundings that reflect thedignity of the courts and theseriousness of the matters beingdealt with.

Improved building infrastructuretogether with modern informationtechnology systems are designedto create an environmentconducive to the effective runningof the courts. The aim of theService is to provide top classfacilities for all users of courts,including judges, staff, legalpractitioners, jurors, victims,witnesses, accused persons, mediaand members of the public.

The active involvement of theBuilding Committee is central toimproving court buildings. Duringthe year, the Committee continuedto review the Capital DevelopmentProgramme of the Service for theperiod 2002-2008, titled “Buildingfor the Future” and maderecommendations to the Board on

a range of issues including policy,standard design briefs, prioritiesand security.

Many factors inform the CapitalDevelopment Programme. One ofthe most important is the impactof demographic changes,including present and futurepopulation centres envisaged bythe National Spatial Strategy.During the year, the BuildingCommittee began identifying howthe Service can take account ofthese demographic considerations.The Building Committee willcomplete this initial work in 2004.

PROGRESSING THE CAPITALDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Building and refurbishmentprogramme

The Capital DevelopmentProgramme contains an ambitiousplan for the maintenance andrefurbishment of court buildings.

The programme placed a priorityon developing county townvenues where most court sittingstake place and where the majorityof court offices are located. Theprogramme also enables theService to avail of opportunities toprovide stand-alone court facilitiesin conjunction with otheragencies. The benefits of suchcooperative projects include bettervalue for money and moreexpeditious provision of facilities.

By the end of 2003, courthousesin only eight county townsremained to be refurbished. Ofthese, planning had beencompleted in respect of Nenagh,Tullamore and Longford withrefurbishment in these venues tocommence in 2004. Proposalswere also being sought in respectof the courthouse in Wexford. Thiswill leave only Kilkenny, Wicklow,Roscommon and Mullingarcourthouses to be refurbished.

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Provide, manage andmaintain court buildings

CHAPTER 2

Mandate 4

Since the establishment of the Service, over €120 million has beeninvested in the refurbishment and construction of courthousesthroughout the country.

Projects completed in 2003

The courthouse at Dundalk wasfully refurbished and extended toprovide modern accommodationand was officially re-opened inMarch 2003. The refurbishedLimerick courthouse was re-opened in May 2003 with newfacilities provided for the DistrictCourt in Navan. The newcourthouse in Tubbercurry,provided as part of a joint projectwith Sligo County Council and aspart of a bigger “one-stop-shop”development, opened inSeptember 2003. Work wascompleted on the newCommercial Court in Bow Street,Dublin, with sittings scheduled tocommence in January 2004.

Projects underway at the endof 2003

Work commenced on therefurbishment of the Circuit CourtCourthouse in Washington Street,Cork in April 2003 the largestinvestment in a court building inthe history of the State. Thebuilding work is scheduled forcompletion in September 2004,with furniture and equipment tobe installed by the end of the yearand the building ready foroccupation in January 2005. InCastlebar, work on therefurbishment of the courthouse isdue for completion in February

2004, with furniture andequipment to be installed and thebuilding ready for occupation inMay 2004. Refurbishment isproceeding well in Ennis and ontarget for completion in March2004, with sittings due to resumein the new courthouse in May2004.

Planning completed in 2003

Work will commence in 2004 onnew courthouses andrefurbishment projects inBallyshannon, Nenagh, Longford,Fermoy, Lismore, Tullamore andBray. A project in Belmullet willform part of a joint project withMayo County Council. Theplanning permission process isexpected to be completed in early2004 following which tenders willbe sought for the project in mid-2004, with work expected tocommence in Autumn 2004. Inaddition, developers will be invitedin 2004 to provide proposals forthe design, construction andprovision of new courthouses inWexford and Drogheda.

DUBLIN REGION

Facilities for judges were improvedduring the year with therefurbishment and decoration of anumber of chambers at the FourCourts and Green Street.

Major improvements in disabledaccess to the Custody Courts inChancery Street, the CircuitCriminal Courts in Chancery Placeand the East Wing of the FourCourts buildings were completedin 2003. Facilities for court userswere improved in a number ofareas including:

• the provision of a newcourtroom in Dolphin Housefor hearing certain casespreviously heard in the ChildrenCourt;

• a new private consultationroom where customers availingof the Small Claims procedurein the District Court office inÁras Uí Dhálaigh can conductbusiness with a member ofstaff in a private andconfidential setting.

By year-end, plans were underwayto upgrade the entrance lobby toÁras Uí Dhálaigh with a view toproviding a more customer friendly

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Many court buildings haveboth architectural andhistorical significance. Thepreservation and restorationof these buildings representsan important contribution onthe part of the Service to thearchitectural heritage ofIreland

atmosphere where informationcan be readily available and ondisplay in appropriate units tocourt users. This improvement willform part of a substantialprogramme of works which hasbeen drawn up for completion inthe Dublin region in 2004. Theseworks will take place at venuesincluding the Four Courts,Chancery Place, Chancery Street,Public Records Office, the ChildrenCourt in Smithfield, the Richmond,Green Street, Dolphin House,Phoenix House, Dun Laoghaire,Tallaght, Cloverhill, Swordscourthouse and court office,Balbriggan and Bow Street.

REVIEWING THE CAPITALDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

A review of the CapitalDevelopment Programme wasundertaken by a group comprisingseveral Principal Officers of theService during 2003. The Report ofthe group which will be availablein early 2004 will consider theProgramme in light of theeconomic and financialenvironment operating within andoutside the Service and takingaccount of such matters asdemographic changes and trends.The Report will assist the SeniorManagement Team and theBuilding Committee.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

The Service prepared a businesscase during 2003 for a dedicatedCriminal Court Complex forcentral Dublin which will be astate-of-the-art criminal justicefacility and will provide courtroomsand ancillary facilities for criminalcourts in a single location. Theproposal will involve the transferof the existing Central CriminalCourts, the Dublin Circuit CriminalCourts, the Special Criminal Courtand the District Custody Courts tothe new modern facility. This willresolve the shortcomings currentlybeing experienced with theexisting facilities including securityand circulation problems and lackof accommodation and facilitiesfor court users. The delivery of thisproject will also result in significantbenefits for the Prison Service andAn Garda Síochána.

The Service is proposing theprocurement of this facility by wayof a Public Private Partnership(PPP) in line with Governmentpolicy.

VESTING OF COURT BUILDINGS

Court accommodation currently inthe ownership of local authoritiesor of the Office of Public Worksmay be transferred to the Serviceby order of the Minister forJustice, Equality & Law Reform.The Service has identified someeighty buildings to be vested.

Four buildings (Youghal,Ballyhaunis, Castlecomer and theChildren Court and the old TrafficCourts in Smithfield, Dublin) werevested by the Minister inNovember. Five vesting orders willbe submitted for vesting in early2004. It is anticipated that theremainder of the eighty buildingswill be vested during 2004.

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AWARDS FOR REFURBISHMENT PROJECTS

Additional award for SligoCourthouse

Sligo courthouse was awarded theprestigious “Best Governmentrefurbishment of an historicbuilding” by An Taisce during2003. Already a winner in 2002 inthe restoration category of theIrish Joinery Awards, this latestaward acknowledged the effortsmade by the Service to preservethe unique style, qualities andarchitectural features of thisimposing building. The project wasboth difficult and challenging forthe design team who werecharged with bringing the oldstructure of the building up tomodern standards in areas such aswiring, computer and phoneoutlets while at the same timeensuring that the new featurescomplemented the old fabric.

Acknowledging work onLimerick Courthouse

The architects responsible for therefurbishment of LimerickCourthouse obtained an award inthe Conservation and RestorationCategory of the Plan-Expo Buildingof the Year Awards 2003.

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“For the careful repair of SligoCourthouse including retention of theexisting court spaces, the exposure of itspatina and the sensitive insertion ofattractive and necessary moderninterventions - establishing a paradigmfor Government refurbishment and amodel for other court buildingscountrywide”

CITATION ACCOMPANYING AWARD FOR SLIGO COURTHOUSE

Cork Courthouse - Biggest renovation of a court building sincethe rebuilding of the Four Courts

It is expected that the refurbishment of the interior of the courthouseat Washington Street will be completed by September 2004 withfurniture and equipment to be installed by the end of the year andthe building ready for occupation in January 2005.

Facilities in the refurbished courthouse will include:

• Seven courtrooms;

• Facilities for judges;

• Consultation rooms;

• Waiting areas;

• Family law facilities;

• Disabled access;

• Media facilities;

• Legal practitioners’ rooms;

• Victim Support room;

• Jury rooms;

• Conference rooms;

• An underground tunnel to facilitate the safe and privatemovement of prisoners.

The building will also be supported by an extensive informationtechnology infrastructure including video conferencing facilities anddigital audio recording facilities.

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“The 1810 listed Courthouse had been mutilated over time such that the original roofand historical features had been removed. The removal of inappropriate buildingadditions and the decision to incorporate extra accommodation requirements in areinstated roof were architectural measures that provided the means to help conservethis waterside classical building. The riverside walk and public domain have beenenhanced by the architectural skill demonstrated in the conservation project”

CITATION ACCOMPANYING AWARD FOR LIMERICK COURTHOUSE

CHAPTER 2

Mandate 4

Maintaining court buildings

Responsibility for the maintenanceof court buildings transferred tothe Regional Managers of theService during the year.Maintenance contracts were put inplace for mechanical/ electricalequipment in newly refurbishedcourthouses and appropriatecleaning and caretakingarrangements put in place foreach building. Arrangements weremade with the Office of PublicWorks to provide maintenance inrespect of those buildings whichare vested in the Service and solelyoccupied by the courts. TheRegional Managers also putarrangements in place with theappropriate local authorities inrespect of those buildings whichare jointly occupied by the Serviceand the local authorities.

A five year maintenanceprogramme for each courtbuilding encompassing suchmatters as main contracts formechanical/electrical equipmentand preventative maintenanceworks such as painting, cleaninggutters and checking roofs will bedeveloped in 2004. Theprogramme will be delivered incooperation with the Office ofPublic Works.

In addition to minor repairs,maintenance includingpainting/decorating, new carpets,rewiring and other works was

carried out at many venues during2003 including Bray,Carndonough, Glenties, Trim,Wicklow, Clonmel, New Ross,Kilkee, Limerick District Court,Newcastlewest, Cork (Circuit andDistrict), Midleton, Galway, Ballina,Swinford, Westport, Ballinrobe,Mullingar, Roscommon, Edenderry,Castlepollard and Portlaoise.

Reviewing securityarrangements in court buildings

During the year, the Servicecontinued to review securityarrangements in court buildingsmindful of the need to ensure abalance between the effectiveadministration of justice with therequirement for justice to beadministered in public and withthe security and safety of allparties. By year-end, the BuildingCommittee was completing aproposal dealing with securityissues.

Health and safety

In Dublin, a thorough fire safetysurvey of the Gandon building atthe Four Courts wascommissioned as part of the on-going effort to make buildings inthe Dublin region safer for allcourt users. By year-end, planswere being made to implementthe recommendations made in theresultant Report. In addition,

alterations were made to Swordscourthouse to comply with firesafety regulations. In the contextof making courthouses and officesin the Dublin region safer to workin, security access was extendedand upgraded in a number ofareas. As part of the on-goingreview of security, furtherimprovements will be put in placein buildings in the Dublin regionduring 2004.

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Mandate 4New and refurbishedcourt buildings sincethe establishment ofthe ServiceCOUNTY TOWNS

Carlow, Dundalk, Limerick,Navan, Portlaoise, Sligo andTrim

TO BE COMPLETED IN 2004

Castlebar, Ennis and Cork

OTHER

Arva, Athy, Baltinglass,Borrisokane, Buncrana,Carrickmacross, CastlereaRemand Centre, ChanceryPlace Building, (Four Courts),Cloverhill, Commercial Court,Derrynea, (East Wing, FourCourts), Kilrush, Listowel,Loughrea, Mallow,Portarlington, Rathdowney,Roscrea, Smithfield FamilyLaw, Templemore,Tubbercurry and Westport

In the modern world, expectationsof the quality of facilities haverightly increased. The Servicecontinues to work to providefacilities that respond to thebusiness being conducted in courtbuildings all around the country.

COURT BUILDINGS ANDTECHNOLOGY

The Service continues to avail ofmodern information technologycapabilities to improve facilities forusers of court buildings. Electronicdisplay panels in the Four Courtskeep members of the legalprofession and the public aware ofthe details regarding courtroomvenue, times and presiding judgein respect of cases being dealtwith. The electronic display panelis also used as a Notice Board forrelevant court information. TheLegal Diary will be available viatouch screen computers in theFour Courts in 2004.

TECHNOLOGY IN THECOURTROOM

As previously mentioned theService continues to supportinitiatives to introduce technologyinto the courtroom. This involvesincorporating technologicalinfrastructural requirements intothe plans for major refurbishmentprojects. Initiatives during the yearincluded a pilot project for theintroduction of digital audiorecording in a small number ofCentral and Circuit CriminalCourts in Dublin; the provision ofa technology infrastructure andequipment in advance of theestablishment of the newCommercial Court; considerationof the feasibility of providing videoconferencing facilities; and theprovision of computers in severalcourtrooms in Dublin to facilitatethe inputting of details of courtcases. In addition, the courthousesin Castlebar, Ennis and Cork,where major refurbishmentprojects are due for completion in

2004, will be supported by anextensive information technologynetwork. The courthouse in Corkwill be provided with thenecessary equipment to facilitatedigital and audio recording andvideo conferencing. Thecourthouses in Castlebar and Enniswill be cabled to accommodatethese technological advances.

FACILITIES FOR FAMILY LAW

The Service is conscious of theneed to provide dedicated facilitiesin all refurbished buildings forlitigants involved in family lawcases. The provision of suchfacilities continues to be a centralaim of the Capital DevelopmentProgramme. Refurbishment worksdue for completion in 2004 atCastlebar, Ennis and Cork includethe provision of family lawfacilities. Other larger projectsscheduled to commence in 2004will also provide for such facilities.

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Provide facilities for users of the Courts

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Mandate 5

The range of people using court facilities is considerable. The Serviceacknowledges that all courthouses should contain suitable facilities toenable every court user to access and use court buildings and toconduct their business effectively.

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THE COMMERCIAL COURT

INTRODUCING THECOURTROOM OF THEFUTURE

The Commercial Court whichwill commence hearing casesin January 2004 will belocated at Bow Street, Dublinin a technology-enabledcourtroom which will facilitatedigital recording ofproceedings, the presentationof evidence electronically and,where required, the hearingof evidence remotely by videoconferencing. The courtroomwill be fitted with VDUs andlaptop points. Consultationrooms will be provided forpractitioners with a largescreen to enable members ofthe public follow proceedingsin the courtroom.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

A standard design brief for courtfacilities prepared by the Office ofPublic Works was considered bythe Building Committee during2003. The brief draws on theexperience of the Service since itsestablishment in refurbishing andconstructing courthouses. It willallow for variations to suitparticular local circumstanceswhile at the same time providing avery useful guide for the planningof future projects. The Service willconsult with a wide range of courtusers with a view to finalising thebrief in 2004.

FACILITIES FOR VICTIMS AND WITNESSES

A room for the use of victims andwitnesses was made available inthe Four Courts during the year.The new facility managed byVictim Support provides a quiet,calm environment for thoseinvolved in the court process,often for the first time.

PROVIDING FACILITIES FORDISABLED COURT USERS

Since its establishment, the Servicehas introduced a range ofmeasures to ensure that the needsof disabled court users continue tobe met. Every person who attendsthe courts presents with adifferent set of circumstances, avarying degree of understandingand a personalised set of needs.The commitment fromGovernment contained in theProgramme for Prosperity andFairness (PPF) in relation toimproving the accessibility ofpublic services has been embracedby the Service and is evident froma number of measurable andsustainable improvements.

During 2003, the European Yearof People with Disability, theService reviewed the measuresbeing taken in a number of areasincluding access to buildings,processes and information. Aseries of disability awarenesstraining programmes wasundertaken by staff from everylevel of the Service, from the ChiefExecutive to frontline staff whodeal with the public.

The age and traditional design ofcourthouses in Ireland continues topose challenges in planning as theService progresses its extensiveCapital Development Programme.To assist in the identification ofareas where improvements are

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Venues where family lawfacilities are available:

• Trim

• Mallow

• Buncrana

• Galway

• Naas

• Sligo

• Dundalk

• Limerick

• Loughrea

• Ballinasloe

• Athlone

• Cork District

• Clonmel

• Bray

• Dublin

Additional venues wherefamily law facilities will beavailable in 2004:

• Castlebar

• Ennis

• Cork

necessary, the Service undertook anationwide survey which wasunderway at year-end to identifythe extent of disabled access tocourt buildings. Universal access isprovided as part of all new andrefurbishment projects. By year-end, plans were being prepared toprovide disabled access toMonaghan and Traleecourthouses.

The Service acknowledges thataccess does not stop at the levelof physical access to and withinbuildings. Access to information,the understanding of courtprocesses and inclusion in courtproceedings need to be providedfor in an atmosphere of equality.Lack of literacy skills can causealienation from society and lead toproblems interacting in it. In acourt environment, suchdifficulties can cause problems forpersons called to serve on juries orto give evidence and thoseinvolved as litigants. In 2003, theService was pleased to support aweek-long programme of eventsorganised by the National AdultLiteracy Agency aimed at raisingliteracy awareness of the justicesystem.

PROVIDING FACILITIES FOR JURORS

Improvements in the arrangementsmade for jurors during the yearincluded an initiative in the DublinCircuit Court. A system, commonlycalled “a call over”, operates in allCircuit Court offices to ensure thatpersons summoned to attend forjury service have attended on thespecified date. For theconvenience of jurors,arrangements were made to havethe call over for those jurorssummoned for the Circuit CriminalCourt in Dublin in a reception areainstead of in a courtroom.

PROVIDING FACILITIES FORMEDIA REPRESENTATIVES INCOURTS

The Service remains committed toproviding accommodation for themedia in courtrooms in Dublin andaround the country tailored to suitlocal needs. Major refurbishmentprojects include provision for desksand telephone facilities for themedia and in some casesdedicated areas in courtrooms.

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Measures taken to improveaccess to the Courts include:

• Members of the public andthose with cases beforethe courts can adapthearing aids to make useof induction loops whichform part of our publicaddress systems inrefurbished courts;

• All refurbishedcourthouses have signageand directions at doorwaysand entrances and exits

• Signage and contact detailsfor court offices are inBraille;

• The new website is beingtested for accessibility;

• Wheelchair ramps areprovided in manycourthouses;

• A platform lift andaccessible toilets havebeen installed in theBridewell courts in Dublin;

• Access ramps have beenprovided in the East Wingof Four Courts andChancery St. courts;

• Many courthouses allowwheelchair users to giveevidence at the front ofthe court beside thewitness box.

LOOKING BACK AT 2003

Projects completedVenue Cost

Dundalk €10.5 million

Tubbercurry €300,000 (Courts Service contribution)

Navan €600,000

Limerick €9 million

Commercial Court €650,000

Work well advanced

• Ennis

• Castlebar

• Cork

Construction to commence in2004

• Ballyshannon

• Nenagh

• Longford

• Fermoy

• Lismore

• Tullamore

• Bray

• Belmullet

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2003

Chapter 3Our Staff

Earlier in this Report reference ismade to the drive underway in theService to create a culture wherestaff feel fully involved and areequipped with the skills andknowledge necessary to do theirjobs effectively. The developmentsand progress made by the Servicesince its establishment have beenfacilitated to a very great extent bythe positive attitude of our staff tochange and change initiatives.Staff have demonstrated awillingness to embrace changeand modernisation unparalleled inthe public service and comparablewith anything in the private sector.

This attitude has manifested itselfin many different ways. Staffparticipation through processessuch as partnership assists in thedevelopment of an organisationwhere good people with goodideas are encouraged and staffcan feel that responsibility isshared across all levels. The cultureand values that have underpinnedthe courts over the years -

commitment, integrity, a strongwork ethic - continue to play amajor part in the development ofthe Service of the future. TheService places great emphasis onthe drive to create an organisationwhere people are allowed to trynew things, a place wherecreativity and drive areencouraged.

EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Staff all around the countrycontinue to engage in a range ofcourses outside of their workinghours, resulting in thedevelopment of a range of skillswhich they bring to the workplacefor the greater benefit of theorganisation. One of the mostpopular courses continues to bethe European Computer DrivingLicence (ECDL) where participantsengage in a series of computercourses in matters such as wordprocessing, database creation andspreadsheet techniques. Some

have progressed to MicrosoftOffice Specialist (MOS), the officialcertification issued by Microsoftfor their Office suite ofapplications.

Third level qualifications in areassuch as Management and Law andleading to a call to the Bar ofIreland were also acquired by staffduring the year.

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Our Staff

CHAPTER 3

Our Staff

The Government’s programme for the development of the publicservice envisages that many changes are necessary not only in theway we do things but in the way we think about what we do.

COURTS SERVICE SPEECHCRAFTGROUP

During the year, staff participatedin their own time in an initiativeaimed at improving anddeveloping their communicationskills. “Speechcraft” meetingscoordinated by a senior memberof staff were held during lunchtime and structured in such a wayas to cater for people at all levelswith the emphasis on developinglistening, thinking and speakingskills. Participants also learn howto organise a meeting and to chairit effectively. The programme usedby the Courts Service SpeechcraftGroup is based on educationalprogrammes created byToastmasters International which isa worldwide organisationdedicated to developing people asexcellent communicators andleaders.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTIONSURVEY

During the year, the Servicecommissioned a job satisfactionsurvey to gauge the level of jobsatisfaction among our staff. Suchsurveys are currently used by manyprivate and public sectororganisations as part of changemanagement programmes, withthe results used to guide futureactions and planning.

The instrument of analysis used inthe job satisfaction survey consistsof nine dimensions of jobsatisfaction as well as an overallsatisfaction rating. In addition tothe standard set of thirty sixquestions, the Service requestedan additional twenty-fourcustomised questions to addressspecific issues, such as thePerformance Management andDevelopment System, businessplanning and training anddevelopment. The resulting reportcontained details on the level ofsatisfaction against publicservice/private sector benchmarks.The response rate to the surveywas very encouraging withseventy-six per cent of staffresponding.

MERIT-BASED PROMOTION

The Service, as part of itscommitment to SustainingProgress, continues to pursuemeasures to ensure greater use ofcompetitive, merit-basedpromotions. All promotions withinthe Service are by competitiveinterview. Since 2003, a system ofreviewing competitions held with aview to continual improvementsand the use of best practice hasbeen implemented.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCEOFFICER

The Service continues to engagethe services of an EmployeeAssistance Officer to assist in theidentification and resolution ofemployee concerns which arehaving an adverse effect onperformance. These concerns canrange from either work orpersonal related matters and canbe addressed by the EmployeeAssistance Officer through theprovision of counselling support orother forms of support such asadvice or information.

DISABILITY LIAISON OFFICER

The Service appointed a DisabilityLiaison Officer (DLO) during theyear to act as a point of contactwithin and between departmentsand offices of the Service. TheDLO also provides information andadvice regarding disability mattersand assistance and support to staffwith disabilities as well as theircolleagues and supervisors. Theresponsibilities of the DLO includemaking contact with a newmember of staff who has notifiedthe Service that they have adisability, and ensuring that anyequipment they may need or anyspecial arrangements they mayrequire are in place before theytake up duty. This can range fromthe need to get a desk of a

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CHAPTER 3

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particular height for a personusing a wheelchair, to notifying amanager that their new staffmember will require regular timeoff to attend hospital or treatmentcentre for physiotherapy orcounselling. Another key role ofthe DLO is monitoring the careerprogression of staff withdisabilities with a view to ensuringthat they are getting an equalopportunity to apply forpromotion and that the selectionand interviewing methodsemployed by the Service areprogressive in this regard.

Disability awareness training wasprovided to the SeniorManagement Team during theyear and also to staff in theSupreme, High and Circuit Courtoffices and in the Directorates.

STAFF SUPPORT - FAMILYFRIENDLY SCHEMES

During the year, a significantnumber of staff availed of anumber of family friendly schemesincluding work sharing and termtime.

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE AWARDS

The Central PartnershipCommittee agreed in early 2003that exceptional awards should bemade twice per year. The firstphase of nominations was dealtwith in September and the secondphase in November.

RETIRED STAFF

Success in an organisation is basedon many years of dedicated andcommitted service and does nothappen overnight. For anorganisation such as the Service, itis important to acknowledge thecontributions made by staff in theyears prior to the establishment ofthe Service, many of whom arestill serving and others who havesince retired. Serving staff wereafforded the opportunity to renewacquaintances with formercolleagues at social functions inMay and November.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

In a variety of ways, the talents ofour staff were revealed at anumber of events during the year.These included functionsmeticulously organised by theSocial Club which included asummer barbeque, a Christmasparty and a snooker competition;excellent performances atnumerous events by the Choir;exploits in such diverse areas assport, music and creative writingand participation in a wide varietyof charitable events andchallenges.

Staff participated on a voluntarybasis in the Special Olympics inJune and organised severalexcursions to the Blood Bank. Aspecial effort was made inDecember to fill shoe boxes withgifts for needy childrenthroughout Eastern Europe in timefor Christmas. A race nightorganised by staff raised some€14,000 towards theestablishment of a hospice forchildren, a project beingundertaken in part by a formermember of staff. Temple StreetChildren’s Hospital in Dublinbenefited to the tune of €200,000thanks in part to the efforts of astaff member who participated ina 2,500 mile sponsored motorcycle challenge on America’s mostfamous highway, Route 66.

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2003

Chapter 4Court Statistics

74


The Service remains committed to improving the rangeand quality of statistical material available on the workof the courts and court offices. A Statistics ReviewGroup, chaired by the Chief Executive, continued tomeet during 2003 to drive a programme of reformwhose primary objective is to identify ways ofmaximising the benefits to be gained from informationtechnology systems. At year-end, the main focus wason the procurement of a comprehensive reporting toolto extract detailed reports from the various systemsoperating throughout the Service. It is intended toinvite expressions of interest for the provision of such areporting tool in early 2004.

This chapter provides details on the work of the courtsand court offices for the period from January 1st 2003to December 31st 2003. Short descriptions of thejurisdiction of the courts and the nature of the workcarried out in a number of administrative offices arealso provided. In some instances, statistical material forthe year 2002 is provided for comparison purposes.

Details of the procedure for obtaining a date forhearing together with information about the length oftime taken for cases to come to a hearing are alsoprovided. The glossary of terms on page 134 isintended to explain many of the terms used in thecourse of court proceedings.

SUPREME COURTThe Supreme Court is the court of final appeal withpower to hear appeals from all decisions of the HighCourt and appeals from the Court of Criminal Appealif that court or the Attorney General certifies that thedecision involves a legal point of exceptional publicinterest. It has other powers under the Constitutionincluding power to give a ruling on a question of lawsubmitted to it by the Circuit Court.

Appeals Appealsdealth with lodged

2003 440 304

2002 415 324

OUTCOME OF APPEALS DEALT WITH2003 2002

Appeals dismissed, High Court order affirmed 148 127

Appeal allowed, High Court order discharged 64 44

Allow appeal, vary High Court order 12 4

Appeal struck out by consent 31 48

Liberty to re-enter granted 0 0

Remit to High Court 0 2

Questions answered 4 0

Appeals withdrawn by consent 43 99

Refer to Europe under Article 243 EU Treaty 1 -

No jurisdiction 1 -

Other 0 0

TOTAL 304 324

JUDGMENTS2003 2002

Reserved judgments outstanding at 01/01 26 12

Total reserved judgments 78 103

Total judgments delivered 93 89

Reserved judgments outstanding at 31/12 11 26

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

LAW TERMS 2003

Hilary: January 13th to April 11th

Easter: April 28th to June 5th

Trinity: June 18th to July 31st

Michaelmas: October 6th to December 19th

75

FIXING DATES FOR HEARING

Dates are assigned by the Registrar when the case hasbeen certified as ready. The Chief Justice case managesthe list to ascertain if the requirements of the Courtspractice directions have been complied with. Thisensures that all appeals are ready for hearing andcourt time is not wasted.

WAITING TIMES

As of December 31st 2003, there was delay ofapproximately four months from the assignment of adate to the hearing date.

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALThe Court of Criminal Appeal hears appeals by personsconvicted in the Circuit Criminal Court, the CentralCriminal Court and the Special Criminal Court wherethe appellant obtains a certificate from the trial judgethat the case is a fit one for an appeal, or, where suchcertificate is refused, where the Court of CriminalAppeal itself, on appeal from such refusal, grants leaveto appeal. The Court also hears appeals by the Directorof Public Prosecutions (DPP) under section 2 of theCriminal Justice Act, 1993 and applications undersection 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1993.

APPEALS TO COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL BYREFERENCE TO TRIAL COURT

Cases Caseson New on

hands appeals Cases handsCourt 01/01 lodged heard 31/12

Circuit Criminal Court 283 165 257 191

Central Criminal Court 76 50 56 70

Special Criminal Court 17 9 11 15

Courts-Martial Appeal Court 1 4 2 3

Appeals by DPP 23 27 19 31

Criminal Procedure Act Appeals 3 2 2 3

Total 403 257 347 313

APPEALS TO COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL BYREFERENCE TO TYPE OF APPEAL

Cases Caseson New on

hands appeals Cases hands01/01 lodged heard 31/12

Conviction and sentence 76 42 50 65

Conviction only 83 49 51 78

Sentence only 244 166 246 168

Total 403 257 347 313


Dates for hearing of appeals are allocated at a list tofix dates held once a term. The court also operates acase-management list which provides a useful forumfor applications for priority, interlocutory applicationsand for the management of the preparation of thenecessary documentation in lengthy appeals (estimatedto take more than a day).

Conviction appeals that are estimated to exceed a dayin duration are processed in the case-management listand once certified as ready, a court is usually speciallyconvened by the Chief Justice, in consultation with thePresident of the High Court, for the hearing of suchcases during the following legal term. Sentence cases,including DPP appeals on the grounds of leniency, areheard within approximately 8 months of lodgement.The only exception to this is in the rare situation wherethere is a delay for some reason in the completion ofthe transcript.

WAITING TIMES

Hearing of sentence appeals: 8 months

Conviction cases: 12-14 months


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

76


HIGH COURTCASES INITIATED IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE OF THEHIGH COURTPLENARY SUMMONS 2003 2002

Admiralty 27 8

Assault 172 311

Breach of contract 592 505

Conversion 5 7

Chancery declaration 805 1,745

Defamation 49 27

False imprisonment 6 17

Forfeiture 2 5

Injunction 399 368

Libel 130 148

Malicious prosecution 1

Negligence 1,519 1,601

Nuisance 12 6

Personal injury 11,245 10,641

Fatal action 105

Probate action 19 47

Rescission 16 13

Slander 11 20

Specific performance 192 197

Trespass 17 11

Wardship 1 1

Miscellaneous 919 811

Total 16,244 16,489

2003 2002

Revenue Summons 979 914

Summary Summons 1,543 1,298

SPECIAL SUMMONS 2003 2002

Arbitration Act 22 23

Charities Acts 0 2

Extradition 34 5

Housing Acts, 1996 0 0

Garda compensation 59 190

Mortgage suit 70 70

Partition Acts 2 1

Possession 265 159

Return of documents 5 16

Succession 65 58

Social Welfare Act 0 9

Trade Marks Act, 1996 2 3

Trustees Act 8 17

Vendor & purchaser 10 7

Miscellaneous 24 72

Total 566 632

OVERVIEW OF SUMMONSES ISSUEDSummons type 2003 2002

Revenue 979 914

Plenary 16,244 16,489

Special 566 632

Summary 1,543 1,298

Total 19,332 19,333

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

77

COMPANIES MATTERS2003 2002

Examinership 11 -

Winding Up Petition 83 94

Restore to Register Petition 254 315

Section 72 Cos Act, 1963* 7 4

Section 73 Cos Act, 1963 5 1




Section 150 (excludes applications initiated in the Examiners Office**) 165 4



Section 202 Cos Act, 1963 - 1

Section 205 Petition 21 25






Section 371 Cos Act, 1963 16 -






Assurance Companies Act, 1909 4 -

Miscellaneous companies matters 4 -

Total 611 500

* “Cos Act” denotes Companies Act** Details of Section 150 applications initiated in the Examiners Office are on

page 92.

MISCELLANEOUS COMMON LAW APPLICATIONS2003 2002

Fire Services Act 1 1

Freedom of Information Act 2 10

Section 160 35 51

Transfer of sentenced persons 12 4

Water Pollution Acts 0 0

Miscellaneous 33 40

Total 83 106

OTHER PROCEEDINGS2003 2002

Appeals from the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal 93 131

Foreign judgments 47 53

Foreign tribunal evidence 9 4

Intended action applications 96 92

Extension of time under Immigration Act 5 12


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

78


PRE-HEARING ACTIVITY2003 2002

Affidavits 28,115 30,787

Appearance 15,461 19,982

Discontinuance 1,377 1,206

Master’s motions 5,742 5,674

Notice to Attorney General 1 5

Notice of intention to proceed 1,992 2,273

Notice of change of solicitor 2,517 2,935

Court motions 11,505 11,537

Notice to produce 2,125 2,190

Notice to trustees 31 35

Setting down for trial 8,088 8,280

Third party notice 270 165

Withdraw a case from the list by letters345 468

Others 11,284 5,381

Total 88,853 96,299

FIXING DATES FOR HEARING - GENERAL

When cases are ready for hearing, they are set downfor trial and given a list number. A list to fix dates isheld each legal term in respect of most lists. Cases arenot transferred to the list to fix dates until they arecertified by counsel as ready for trial. Most cases whichare certified as ready for trial are given dates forhearing in the following legal term. On selected datesthroughout the year, cases which have been set downfor trial but which have not been certified by counselas ready for trial are called over in court to ascertainthe current position.

Many cases are settled by the parties and do notproceed to full hearing. These cases are removed fromthe list of cases set down for trial or certified as readyfor hearing by consent of the parties. Section 10 (3) ofthe Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961, asamended, states that it is the function of the Presidentof the High Court to arrange the distribution andallocation of the business of the High Court. Lists areprepared by senior court registrars called list registrars,with cases being listed in chronological order. The dateon which cases are entered in the lists depends on thecategory of case.

With the exception of the Circuit Appeals List,responsibility for the allocation of dates is delegated bythe President of the High Court to the individualjudges having management of the various lists. Incases of urgency where an early hearing is requestedand no available dates remain, the parties may applyto the President who will endeavour to assign judgesto hear the case depending on the availability of extrajudges and the urgency of the cases.

FIXING DATES FOR HEARING: NON-JURY ANDCHANCERY

Non-jury and chancery list cases are not transferred tothe list to fix dates until certified as ready for hearing.Certified cases are then listed chronologically (inaccordance with the date of filing of the certificate ofreadiness) in the next list to fix dates. Certain cases atthe top of the list may be given priority by the listjudge where a date may previously have been assignedbut the case failed to get a hearing due to theunavailability of a judge. Lists to fix dates are held atthe end of each term and most cases ready to proceedare assigned one the following term.

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

79

WAITING TIMES: CHANCERY

At the list to fix dates in December 2003, all caseswhich had been set down and certified by counsel asready for trial in each of the chancery lists to fix dateswere allocated dates from January 2004 to March2004. Cases which were assigned dates were directedto be listed in the list to fix dates in the Hilary Term in2004.

CHANCERY INTERIM ORDERS GRANTED(INCLUDES INTERIM FAMILY LAW ORDERS)

Orders in Examinerships 47

Miscellaneous Companies Act applications 307

Examiners orders 327

Interim injunction 172

Interlocutory injunction 107

Miscellaneous interim chancery orders 438

Total 1,398

CHANCERY FINAL ORDERS GRANTED

Chancery: settled 164

Chancery hearing: final orders 134

Restoration of company to Register 264

Reduction of share capital 17

Wind up company 23

Order for possession of property 83

Well charging order 33

Total 718

WAITING TIMES: NON-JURY

At the list to fix dates in December 2003, dates wereallocated to 25 out of the 175 cases which had beencertified as ready at the time. The dates allocated werefrom January 2004 to March 2004. The remainder ofcases in the list were adjourned to the top of the listto fix dates in the Hilary Term in 2004.

NON-JURY (EXCLUDING FAMILY LAW ANDJUDICIAL REVIEW)

Cases CasesCases set disposed Cases

on down of onhands 01/01 01/01 hands

Period 01/01 - 31/12 - 31/12 31/12

2003 117 311 248 180

2002 211 275 369 117

JUDICIAL REVIEW (EXCLUDING ASYLUM LIST)CASES INITIATEDCase type 2003 2002

Certiorari 520 433

Certiorari, Mandamus & Declaration 0 3

Mandamus 182 173

Prohibition 98 73

Miscellaneous (including extension of time) 185 73

Total 985 755


Motions for judicial review are not transferred to thelist to fix dates until the list judge is satisfied that allpre-hearing directions have been complied with. Thelist to fix dates is held at the end of each term to fixdates for the following term.


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

80


WAITING TIMES

At the list to fix dates in December 2003, dates wereallocated to 88 of the 199 cases in the list,representing approximately 45% of the cases in thelist. The dates allocated were from January 2004 toMarch 2004. The remainder of cases in the list wereadjourned to the top of the list to fix dates in HilaryTerm 2004.

JUDICIAL REVIEW INTERIM ORDERS GRANTED

Leave to apply granted 372

Leave to apply refused 221

Interim planning 18

Other interim orders 438

Total 1,049

Asylum 339

JUDICIAL REVIEW FINAL ORDERS GRANTED

Declaration 11

Injunction 6

Mandamus 5

Planning 23

Prohibition 12

Refusal 93

Strike out 51

Certiorari 106

Total 307

JUDICIAL REVIEW (ASYLUM)Cases disposed of

Period No. of Struck Adjourned Judgmentcases out generally Adjourned reserved Orderslisted

2003 723 0 0 502 21 200

2002 542 13 9 208 50 262


Cases are assigned dates by the list judge.

WAITING TIMES

Motions are listed for hearing on a date approximatelywithin 6 weeks of coming into the list.

FAMILY LAW CASES INITIATED

Case type 2003 2002

Adoption 12 30

Child abduction 34 26

Divorce 42 33

Family Law Act 1995 2 1

Guardianship of infants 5 7

Judicial separation 53 59

Maintenance of spouses & children 0 1

Nullity 1 2

Total 149 159


Cases ready for hearing are included in a weekly list tofix dates.

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

81

WAITING TIMES

3 months where the Master of the High Court deemsthe case ready for hearing. Parties can obtain an earlierdate by applying to be included in a separate list toavail of dates where a case listed for hearing settles oradjourns.

FAMILY LAW ORDERS GRANTED

Adoption order 10

Circuit appeal: final order 27

Child Abduction: final order 14

Miscellaneous: final family orders 45

Divorce 41

Judicial Separation 26

Nullity 4

Interim miscellaneous 218

Total 385

JURY LISTCases New Cases

on Cases Cases onhands set disposed hands01/01 down of 31/12

2003 62 54 71 45

2002 70 54 62 62

NUMBER OF DAYS AT HEARING

1 day 2

3 days 0

4 days 1

5 days 2


Actions set down for trial are automatically entered inthe next list to fix dates according to the setting downdate. As there is generally a high number ofsettlements and applications for adjournments in thislist, virtually all cases seeking a date obtain one in thefollowing term.

WAITING TIMES

At the list to fix dates in October 2003, dates wereallocated for all cases which had been called on asready for hearing. The dates allocated were for 4th to14th November 2003.

BAIL 2003 2002

Applications made 2,183 2,690

Applications granted on own surety 471 561

Applications granted on third party surety 525 567

Applications refused 284 345

Applications refused under Bail Act, 1997 26 16

Applications withdrawn 194 346

Applications struck out 388 498

Orders varied 104 185


Dates are selected by the applicants by way of noticeof motion issued out of the Central Office.

WAITING TIMES

A motion list is heard by the court each Mondayduring term. Applications received are listed for thefollowing Monday.


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

82


MASTERS COURT

2003 2002

Special Summons 2,652 2,635

Motions for judgment- on notice 2,376 2,289

9,090 8,538

Ex parte applications 837 610

Examination of company directors/judgment debtors 72 34

Total 15,027 14,106


Notices of motion and special summonses areallocated return dates for the Masters Court at thetime of issue.

WAITING TIMES

Return dates allocated for notices of motion andspecial summonses are approximately 1-2 weeks afterthe date of issue.

MASTERS ORDERS GRANTED2003

Join co-defendant 140

Discovery 1,613

Adopt from Circuit Court 960

Dismiss plaintiff’s claim for want of prosecution 267

Enforce foreign judgment 48

Liberty to enter final judgment 281

Payment out of Minor’s funds 138

Remit to Circuit Court 98

Strike out Motion 1,008

Renew Summons 48

Miscellaneous 1,116

Total 5,817

APPEALS FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT

APPEALS LODGED (INCLUDING APPLICATIONS FOREXTENSION OF TIME TO APPEAL)

2003 476

2002 453


Circuit appeals are heard on Monday of each week.Dates are not assigned until books of appeal arelodged in the Central Office. The next availablehearing date is then assigned by the list registrar.Application is made to the President to assign an extrajudge to hear appeals which are expected to last anumber of days.

WAITING TIMES

4 weeks from the date of lodgment of books ofappeal

CASES TRANSFERRED FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT.

In 2003, there were 1,899 cases transferred to theHigh Court from the Circuit Court.

PERSONAL AND FATAL INJURIES: DUBLIN2003 2002

Cases on hand at 01/01 6,125 6,814

New cases received 11,936 4,134

Cases disposed of 13,695 4,823

Cases outstanding as of 31/12 - 4,366 6,125

PROVINCIAL VENUESDundalk 2003 2002

Cases on hand at 01/01 517 537

New cases received 547 462

Cases disposed of 564 482

Cases outstanding as of 31/12 500 517

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

83

Galway 2003 2002





Cork 2003 2002

Cases on hand at 01/01 1,111 1,134


Cases disposed of 1,069 713

Cases outstanding as of 31/12 753 1,111

Limerick 2003 2002

Cases on hand at 01/01 1,033 848


Cases disposed of 1,088 575

Cases outstanding as of 31/12 762 1,033

Sligo 2003 2002





Waterford 2003 2002





Kilkenny 2003 2002




Cases outstanding as of 31/12 - 68 134

TOTAL PERSONAL AND FATAL INJURIES CASES2003 2002

On hands 01/01 10,297 10,744

New cases received 15,600 7,426

Cases disposed of 18,532 7,873

On hands 31/12 7,365 10,297

There were a total of 454 personal injury cases in theHigh Court in 2003 where judgment was given for aliquidated sum, either on consent or following hearingor disclosed terms of consent. Awards were made in433 cases, while 3 cases dealt only with the issue ofliability and 15 cases were dismissed. In the remaining3 cases, 2 were struck out and judgment was reservedin the other case.

Range of awards Number of cases

€0 to €37,999 143

€38,000 to €99,999 204

€100,000 to €199,999 37

€200,000 to €999,999 37

€1m + 12

The lowest amount awarded in the High Court caseswas €5,000 while the highest amount was€4.5million.

PERSONAL INJURIES SITTINGS OUTSIDE DUBLIN:GENERAL

Cork 9 weeks each year (4 sessions)

Limerick 8 weeks each year (4 sessions)

Galway 8 weeks each year (4 sessions)

Dundalk 6 weeks each year (2 sessions)

Waterford 4 weeks each year (2 sessions)

Sligo 4 weeks each year (2 sessions)

Kilkenny 2 weeks each year (1 session)


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

84


PERSONAL AND FATAL INJURIES ACTIONS

OUTSIDE DUBLINHilary

CORK Monday 13th January (3 weeks)

GALWAY Monday 3rd February (2 weeks)

LIMERICK Monday 17th February (2 weeks)

WATERFORD Monday 3rd March (2 weeks)

CORK Monday 24th March (2 weeks)

Easter

LIMERICK Monday 28th April (2 weeks)

SLIGO Monday 28th April (2 weeks)

GALWAY Monday 12th May (2 weeks)

DUNDALK Monday 12th May (3 weeks)

Trinity

ENNIS (At LIMERICK) Monday 23rd June (2 weeks)

GALWAY Monday 7th July (2 weeks)

WATERFORD Monday 7th July (2 weeks)

CORK Monday 21st July (2 weeks)

Michaelmas

CORK Monday 6th October (2 weeks)

LIMERICK Monday 20th October (2 weeks)

GALWAY Monday 20th October (2 weeks)

SLIGO Monday 3rd November (2 weeks)

KILKENNY Monday 17th November (2 weeks)

DUNDALK Monday 1st December (3 weeks)

FIXING A DATE FOR HEARING

Dublin List

Once a case is set down, the parties may immediatelyapply for a hearing date 3 weeks from the date ofapplication.

VENUES OUTSIDE DUBLIN

The High Court sits at Cork, Galway, Limerick,Waterford, Sligo/Letterkenny, Kilkenny and Dundalk tohear personal and fatal injury actions. Cases are listedin chronological order once set down. Applications tofix the list of cases for hearing are heard by the listjudge 3 weeks in advance of the sittings. Cases thatare not ready for hearing are adjourned.

WAITING TIMES

Dublin List

There are no delays in this list and the speed withwhich a case obtains a hearing date is a matter for theparties. Long cases such as medical negligence actionswhich can last a number of weeks may require that adate be specially fixed by the judge. The date assignedwill depend on availability but generally a date will beassigned within 3 weeks of the application beingmade.

VENUES OUTSIDE DUBLIN

The only significant delay is in the Cork list wherecases can take 2 years to be reached. In the Dundalk,Kilkenny, Galway, Waterford and Sligo/Letterkennylists, cases that are ready to proceed will usually beheard within 3-6 months of setting down. In Limerickcases are usually heard within 12 months of settingdown.

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

85

COMMON LAW INTERIM ORDERS GRANTED

Criminal Assets Bureau matters 50

Stay Circuit Court order 9

Contempt of court 27

Amend pleadings 128

Order directing disclosure of reports 110

Discovery 128

Extension of time appearance /defence 1,405

Assessment of damages 348

Directing replies to particulars 732

Remit to Circuit Court 121

Renew summons 300

Security for costs 14

Order for service outside jurisdiction 36

Solicitor coming off record 176

Substituted service 154

Liberty to issue & serve third party notice 321

Strike out 1,687

Miscellaneous 2,062

Total 7,808

COMMON LAW FINAL ORDERS GRANTED

Circuit Court appeal 201

Garda compensation 159

Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal appeals 46

Non Jury final orders 102

Transfer of sentenced persons 4

Miscellaneous 72

Total 584

HIGH COURT - NUMBER OF WRITTEN JUDGMENTS DELIVERED

2003 322

2002 334

OTHER CENTRAL OFFICE ACTIVITIES2003 2002

Judgments registered

High Court: 335 188

Circuit Court: 980 690

District Court: 2,205 1,611

Total: 3,520 2,489

Deeds poll registered 409 279

Subpoenas issued 5,867 5,869

Applications for service in Ireland under the Hague Convention 117 70

Judgment mortgage affidavits filed 308 177

Lis pendens registered 146 123

Powers of attorney enrolled 26 30

Judgments in default of appearance marked 736 484

Judgments marked in pursuance of an order 187 170

Execution orders issued 1,021 723

WAITING TIMES2003 2002

Enrolment of miscellaneous deeds e.g. Deed Poll

1 week 1 week

Requests for copy documents 3 days 3 days

Certification of documents by Registrar of Central Office (e.g. judgment \mortgage affidavits) 1 week 1 week

Processing ofapplications forjudgment and whereexecution orders

2-3 weeks whereno query raised orfrom discharge of

query if raised

1 week no queryraised or from

discharge of query if raised


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

86


CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURTThe High Court exercising its criminal jurisdiction isknown as the Central Criminal Court. It consists of ajudge or judges of the High Court nominated fromtime to time by the President of the High Court. Thecourt sits at such times and in such places as thePresident may decide. The court has traditionally satexclusively in Dublin.

Although the Central Criminal Court has fulljurisdiction in all types of offences, in practice it onlydeals with offences where it has exclusive jurisdiction.The court deals mainly with murder, rape and serioussexual assault cases, but also has the jurisdiction inrespect of piracy and treason. From 2002, it also hasjurisdiction under the Competition Act.

In 2003, the number of new cases received was 91and the number dealt with was 159. There was a totalof 111 convictions. There were also 25 acquittals. In12 cases, nolle prosequi was entered by theprosecution. 55 cases were dealt with on a plea ofguilty and there were 87 jury trials. Of the jury trials, 2accused changed their plea to guilty.

MURDER CASES

39 murder cases were received in 2003 and 58 caseswere dealt with. There was a total of 49 convictionsincluding guilty pleas. There were 32 murderconvictions and 17 convictions on manslaughter andother charges. There were 43 full murder trialsresulting in 25 murder convictions with a further 10persons convicted of manslaughter or other offences.In one case, there was no agreement by the jury. Therewere 6 acquittals and 1 nolle prosequi.

MURDER CASES: 1996 TO 2003received disposed of other

1996 25 23 01997 28 19 01998 29 20 01999 33 29 02000 42 33 12001 31 32 12002 55 48 42003 39 58 1Total 282 262 7

RESULTS OF MURDER CASES DISPOSED OF2003 2002

Persons convicted of murder 28 15

Persons convicted of other offences other than murder 17 20

Persons convicted of attempted murder or other related offence 1 0

Persons found not guilty by reason of insanity 3 3

Persons acquitted 6 0

Accused deceased 0 1

Other including nolle prosequi 3 2

Total 58 41

SENTENCES IMPOSED IN MURDER/MANSLAUGHTER CASES

2003 2002

Life imprisonment 30 15

>10yrs 6 4

>5yrs<10yrs 5 8

>2yrs <5yrs 5 5

Other 2 3

not guilty by reason of insanity 3 3

PLEAS/JURY TRIALS2003 2002

Pleas 14 11

Jury trials 43 28

MURDER CASES OUTSTANDING AT 31/122003 2002

46 65

RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES

52 rape and sexual assault cases were received in 2003and 100 cases were dealt with. 61 persons wereconvicted of rape or other sexual offences. There were19 acquittals. In 3 cases, the jury failed to agree. Therewere 10 nolle prosequi.

CHAPTER 4

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RAPE CASES: 1996 TO 2003received disposed of

1996 48 48

1997 72 51

1998 130 86

1999 130 98

2000 113 94

2001 92 98

2002 82 93

2003 52 100

Total 719 668

OUTCOMES OF RAPE CASES DISPOSED OF2003 2002

Persons convicted of rape 12 13

Persons convicted of rape and other offences 31 24

Persons convicted of other sexual offences 18 21

Persons acquitted 19 13

Other including nolle prosequi 20 10

Total 100 81

SENTENCES IMPOSED IN RAPE AND SEXUALASSAULT CASES

2003 2002

Life 2 1

>10yrs 7 5

>5yrs <10yrs 28 24

<5yrs 16 27

other 8 1

PLEAS/ JURY TRIALS2003 2002

Pleas 40 42

Jury trials 44 30

RAPE CASES OUTSTANDING AT 31/122003 2002

103 151


Cases are returned to the next or present sitting of theCentral Criminal Court and placed in a list to fix dates.Periodically throughout the court terms the list is calledover and cases are allocated dates, usually severalmonths in advance.

WAITING TIMES

At the end of 2002, the waiting time for a trial was 18months. 5 Central Criminal Courts were held inSeptember 2003 when the court would normally be inrecess. 25 cases were listed for trial and 24 were dealtwith. This had a significant impact on the waitingtimes. At the end of 2003, the waiting time for ahearing was 12 months.


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88


SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURTThe Special Criminal Court hears criminal casesdirected to be tried in the Special Criminal Court bycertificate of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Since1998, the Court has dealt with 101 cases involvingsome 164 people.

CASES DEALT WITH 1998 - 2003Year Number Number

of cases of persons

1998 21 37

1999 14 18

2000 26 36

2001 18 32

2002 13 22

2003 9 19

Total 101 164

In 2003, 9 trials involving 19 accused persons wereheld in the Special Criminal Court. 6 persons enteredguilty pleas and 7 were convicted having pleaded notguilty.

2003 2002

Number of cases on hands as of 01/01 30 16

Number of new cases 27 27

Number of cases disposed of 9 13

Number of cases outstanding at 31/12 48 30

Total Total Number Number Number Othernumber number convicted convicted struck out/of trials of people on plea of on pleas nolle

not guilty of guilty prosequi/ acquitted

2003 9 19 7 6 6 0

2002 13 22 10 9 3 0


Where cases are directed to be heard before theSpecial Criminal Court, the accused is charged beforethe Court and remanded pending the preparation of abook of evidence. Cases are not assigned dates forhearing until the book of evidence has been served.

WAITING TIMES

In December 2003, the waiting time for a hearing inthe Special Criminal Court was approximately 11months.

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89

OFFICE OF THE GENERALSOLICITOR FOR MINORS ANDWARDS OF COURTThe General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Courtsis employed by the President of the High Court to actas committee to the estate in certain wardshipmatters, as guardian of the funds in certain minormatters and as “friend of the court” in certain othercases concerning the rights of persons with a mentalincapacity.

2003 2002

Wardship cases 421 408

Sub cases 87 107

FUNDS HELD

At December 31st 2003, the balance in theCommittee Account (on behalf of Wards and Minors)amounted to €826,319.19.

OFFICE OF WARDS OF COURTThe Office of Wards of Court is responsible for thesupervision of the affairs of persons taken into thewardship of the High Court. The purpose of wardshipis to afford protection to the person and property ofindividuals who, whether by reason of mental capacityor infancy, are deemed by the court to be incapable ofmanaging their affairs for themselves.

2003 2002

Number of wardship cases 2,765 2,669

Applications awaiting hearing 1,125 1,193

Total 3,880 3,862

Inquiry orders 209 150

Declaration orders 204 114

Declaration orders (minors) 14 5

Dismissal orders 136 103

Discharge orders (minors) 0 11

Orders (other) 1,005 633

Enduring powers of attorney registered 99 85

WAITING TIMES

2003

From acceptance of 2 weeks from receipt ofapplication papers to completed documentationlisting before court

For preparation of dismissal 10 weeks or discharge order from date of filing application

For authorisation of 1 week from date ofpayments request where there are

no queries or fromresolution of queries

For registration of an 1 week where no queryenduring power of attorney is raised or from

discharge of query, if raised.


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PROBATE OFFICEThe main functions of the Probate Office of the HighCourt are the admission of wills to proof, the issuingof grants of probate and administration, thepreservation of probate records for inspection, theprovision of certified copies of probate documents andthe processing of court applications to the judgeassigned to deal with probate matters.

There are 14 local probate offices called DistrictProbate Registries located in Circuit Court officesaround the country.

PRINCIPAL REGISTRY2003 2002

Probates (and administrations with wills annexed) 5,382 6,029

Intestacies 2,046 1,987

Personal applicants (included in above) 1,140 1,047

Caveats 517 493

Appearances 44 39

Court applications 165 167

Other forms of proceedings: citations 26 14

Warnings 61 59

PROBATES AND ADMINISTRATIONS GRANTED2003 2002

On hearing of causes 6 1

On motion before the judge 52 61

In the Registry without decree or Order of the judge 7,370 7,954

Revocation of probate or administration 23 28

FEES GENERATED BY OFFICE 2003

Total amount of fees received €1,547,891.00

Fees on personal applications *€330,417

* included in total figure

WAITING TIMES

PRINCIPAL REGISTRY

Application by solicitor for grant 6 weeks

Application by personal applicant for grant 8 weeks

DISTRICT PROBATE REGISTRIES 2003 2002

Castlebar 4 weeks 3 weeks

Cavan 2 weeks 2 weeks

Clonmel 1-2 weeks 10 days

Cork 3 weeks 5 weeks

Dundalk 4 weeks 4-5 weeks

Galway 10-12 weeks 2-3 weeks

Kilkenny 2-3 weeks 3-4 weeks

Letterkenny 8 weeks 2 weeks

Limerick 8-10 weeks 3 weeks

Mullingar 1 week 1-2 weeks

Sligo 1- 11/2 weeks 1-2 weeks

Tralee 2-3 weeks 1 week

Waterford 4-6 weeks 2 weeks

Wexford 2 weeks 2 weeks

CHAPTER 4

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91

LOCAL REGISTRIESCASTLEBAR

2003 2002

Probates (and administrations with wills annexed) 340 406

Intestacies 151 182

CAVAN2003 2002


Intestacies 73 67

CLONMEL2003 2002


Intestacies 126 156

CORK2003 2002

Probates (and administrations with wills annexed) 1,072 1,023

Intestacies 357 321

DUNDALK 2003 2002

incomplete


Intestacies 110 21

GALWAY2003 2002


Intestacies 245 243

KILKENNY2003 2002


Intestacies 134 109

LETTERKENNY2003 2002


Intestacies 106 73

LIMERICK2003 2002


Intestacies 248 333

MULLINGAR2003 2002


Intestacies 108 90

SLIGO2003 2002


Intestacies 104 92


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

92


TRALEE2003 2002


Intestacies 169 208

WATERFORD2003 2002


Intestacies 70 66

WEXFORD2003 2002


Intestacies 112 105

EXAMINER’S OFFICEThe Examiner’s Office assists the High Court inchancery and company law matters following themaking of an order by the court by dealing withaccounts and inquiries, settling lists of creditors,arranging sales of properties, countersigning paymentsand investments and processing applications for thecourt.

Nature Cases New Cases Casesof pending cases disposed pendingproceedings 01/01 lodged of 31/12

Company liquidations 616 30 108 538

Mortgage suits 1,013 8 5 1,016

Administration suits/ next of kin/other 362 0 0 362

Total 1,991 38 113 1,916

APPLICATIONS UNDER SECTION 150 COMPANIES ACT, 1990

No. of No. of No. of No. of Directors Directors Directors not outstanding

investigated restricted restricted issues

104 55 45 4

The Examiner also has a role in bankruptcy whichincludes the processing of applications and acting asRegistrar to the Bankruptcy Court.

2003 2002

Summonses filed 8 7

Summonses granted 6 7

Petitions for adjudication filed 14 14

Adjudications 5 4

Arrangement petitions filed 0 0

Orders in aid applied for 0 1

Orders in aid made 0 1

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93

OFFICE OF THE OFFICIALASSIGNEE IN BANKRUPTCYThe Official Assignee in Bankruptcy is primarilyconcerned with the affairs of persons who have beenadjudicated bankrupt by order of the High Court. It isthe function of the Official Assignee to realise theassets of a bankrupt and, having discharged costs, feesand expenses incurred in the bankruptcy, togetherwith preferential payments, to pay a dividend to theordinary creditors admitted in the bankruptcy.

2003 2002

Cases ongoing at 01/01 494 492

New adjudications 5 4

Cases discharged 5 2

Cases ongoing at 31/12 494 494

OFFICE OF THE TAXING MASTERThe function of the Taxing Master is to provide anindependent and impartial assessment of legal costsincurred by a person or company involved in litigation.Costs may be taxed following a court order, anarbitration hearing, acceptance of a lodgment in court,order of a tribunal, award of the Oireachtas,registration of a judgment as a mortgage or ondemand by a client.

2003 2002

Bills certified 519 446

Items certified 55,736 44,944

Costs claimed €33,014,989 €20,805,517.72

Costs allowed €25,759,931 €16,014,523.54

Fees (duty) €1,204,340.60 €687,135.02

Duty on summonses €22,578.00 €17,805.00

WAITING TIMES

Summons to tax costs to date for hearing: 6-8 weeks

OFFICE OF THE ACCOUNTANT OFTHE COURTS OF JUSTICEThe Accountant of the Courts of Justice is responsiblefor the receipt, custody, investment and payment outof monies required to be lodged in court either bydirection of the High Court or the Supreme Court, bystatute or by Rules of Court. The Accountant also hascustody of insurance bonds required to be entered intoby all licensed auctioneers. An audited Statement ofAccount in respect of the Accountant’s Office for theyear ended 30th September 2003, prepared inaccordance with Order 77, Rule 96 of the Rules of theSuperior Courts is included as part of the FinancialStatements on page 123.


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94


THE CIRCUIT COURTThe Circuit Court is a court of limited and localjurisdiction. The business of the court can be dividedinto four categories: criminal, civil, family andlicensing.

A list of all Circuit Court offices and their volume ofbusiness is in Appendix 1.

TOTAL CIRCUIT COURT BUSINESSCriminal Civil Family Licensing

2003 13,256 39,125 5,466 521

2002 13,035 37,991 4,928 479

The general limits of the Circuit Court’s civil jurisdictionare:

• actions in contract and tort where the claim doesnot exceed €38,092.14

• probate matters and suits for the administration ofestates, where the rateable valuation does notexceed €253.95

• equity cases, where rateable valuation does notexceed €253.95 or damages do not exceed€38,092.14

• ejectment actions or applications for new tenancies(fixing of rent etc.) where the rateable valuation ofthe property does not exceed €253.95

• actions founded on hire purchase and credit saleagreements, where the hire purchase price of thegoods or, as the case may be, the amount of theclaim does not exceed €38,092.14

CRIMINAL

In criminal matters, the Circuit Criminal Court hasjurisdiction to deal with all indictable offences with theexceptions of murder, rape, aggravated sexual assault,treason, piracy and related offences. Most seriouscrimes, with the above exceptions, are tried in theCircuit Criminal Court. Cases may be tried by thejudge in the circuit where the offence was committedor where the accused resides. However, in CircuitCriminal Courts outside Dublin, the trial judge may, on

application by the prosecution or the defence and ifsatisfied that it would be unjust not to do so, transfera trial to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Criminalcases dealt with by the Circuit Criminal Courtscommence in the District Court and are sent forwardto the Circuit Criminal Court for trial or sentencing.

CRIMINAL TRIALS

Excluding appeals, 2,475 cases were sent forward fortrial from the District Court to the Circuit CriminalCourts. In the same period, 2,325 criminal cases weredealt with at Circuit level, not including appeals. Ofthe persons who came before the Circuit CriminalCourts, 1,634 were dealt with on a guilty plea.

JURY TRIALS

There was a total of 568 jury trials dealt with in 2003.161 persons were convicted and sentenced and in afurther 29 cases the matter was adjourned forsentencing. There were 129 acquittals. 206 offenderswho changed their plea to guilty were sentenced inthe Circuit Criminal Courts.

Excluding persons who changed their pleas from notguilty to guilty, 319 jury trials were completed in theCircuit Criminal Courts last year. There were 87 trials inthe Central Criminal Court. It is estimated that 4,872jurors served on criminal juries last year.

OUTCOME OF JURY TRIALSaccused accused

convicted acquitted

2003 161 129

2002 184 119

ANALYSIS OF CRIMINAL BUSINESSJury trials Guilty pleas Nolle prosequi Change to guilty

2003 319 1,634 123 249

2002 338 1,887 159 92

CHAPTER 4

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95

JURY SELECTION

TRIALS AND JURORS SELECTED

Number of jury trials dealt with by Circuit Courts* 319

Estimated number of jurors 3,828

Number of jury trials dealt with by Central Criminal Court 87

Estimated number of jurors 1,044

Overall estimated number of jurors who served on juries 4,872

* Does not include cases where plea of not guilty changed to guilty plea.

DISTRICT COURT APPEALS

The Circuit Court deals with criminal appeals from theDistrict Court by way of rehearing. The District Courtdealt with 385,375 criminal cases in 2003. In the sameperiod, the Circuit Court received 11,624 criminalappeals from the District Court and dealt with 10,931such appeals.

APPEALS FROM THE DISTRICT COURT2003 Received Dealt with

Criminal 11,624 10,931

Family law 412 441

Civil 588 5862002

Criminal 10,561 10,559

Family law 439 357

Civil 666 736

CIVIL BUSINESS DEALT WITH

Notices of Trial Motions Civil appeals Liquor licences

2003 12,206 26,333 586 521

2002 14,151 23,104 736 479

CIVIL BUSINESS

The civil jurisdiction of the Circuit Court is a limitedone unless all the parties to an action consent tounlimited jurisdiction.

Generally the civil work of the Circuit Court can bedivided into:

(a) Civil Trials

(b) Motions

(c) Judgments marked in the office

(d) Licensing applications

CIVIL TRIALS

12,206 civil trials were dealt with. Of these 5,556 weresettled, 419 were disposed of by the County Registrarand 5,772 cases were ruled on by the court. 459 wereadjourned generally with liberty to re-enter.

NOTICE OF TRIALS2003 2002

Number settled 5,556 7,538

Cases dealt with by county registrar 419 245

Cases dealt with by court 5,772 6,044

Cases adjourned with liberty to re-enter 459 324


CHAPTER 4

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96


NOTICES OF MOTION

Notices of motion and trial are lodged in the CircuitCourt Office for listing. Motions are mostly preliminaryapplications relating to a case e.g., applications fordiscovery, to add another person to an action,amendment of pleadings etc. Since the Courts OfficersAct, 1995 the majority of motions are dealt with bythe County Registrars and generally, the Circuit Judgeonly deals with ejectment motions, transfers to theHigh Court and infant settlements.

The Courts and Court Officers Act, 2002 extended thejurisdiction of County Registrars to deal with motionswith effect from 1 October, 2002. Additional powersinclude orders for transfer of proceedings where theparties consent, orders entering judgement forunliquidated amounts in certain circumstances andorders for recovery or possession where no appearanceis entered or no defence delivered

In 2003, 26,333 motions were disposed of. Of these,2,577 were settled by the parties, 16,122 were dealtwith by the County Registrars and 5,502 were heard incourt. A further 2,132 were adjourned generally withliberty to re-enter.

MOTIONS2003 2002

Number settled 2,577 1,456

Cases dealt with by county registrars 16,122 13,771

Cases dealt with by court 5,502 7,559

Cases adjourned with liberty to re-enter 2,132 318

JUDGMENTS MARKED IN THE OFFICE

Many cases involving claims for liquidated sums whereno defence / appearance are entered by the defendantare dealt with in the Circuit Court offices without theneed for a court hearing. There were over 7,370 caseswere dealt with in this way in 2003.

CIVIL BILLS ISSUEDCircuit court office 2003 2002

CARLOW 475 453

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON 177 192

CASTLEBAR 936 942

CAVAN 390 409

CLONMEL 1,307 1,506

CORK 5,092 5,151

DUBLIN 14,334 15,032

DUNDALK 1,407 1,439

ENNIS 789 855

GALWAY 1,821 1,992

KILKENNY 581 735

LETTERKENNY 1,128 1,270

LIMERICK 2,187 2,303

LONGFORD 332 343

MONAGHAN 368 368

MULLINGAR 627 689

NAAS 1,604 1,438

PORTLAOISE 444 428

ROSCOMMON 357 410

SLIGO 462 508

TRALEE 1,074 991

TRIM 1,579 1,283

TULLAMORE 443 469

WATERFORD 1,026 1,151

WEXFORD 924 900

WICKLOW 1,317 1,127

TOTAL 41,181 42,384

CHAPTER 4

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97

PERSONAL INJURY CASES IN WHICH AWARDSWERE MADE BY THE COURT OR SETTLEMENTSRULEDCircuit court office No. of Awards

CARLOW 12

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON 10

CASTLEBAR 69

CAVAN 15

CLONMEL 122

CORK 319

DUBLIN 434

DUNDALK 133

ENNIS 51

GALWAY 92

KILKENNY 15

LETTERKENNY 27

LIMERICK 56

LONGFORD 10

MONAGHAN 28

MULLINGAR 10

NAAS 35

PORTLAOISE 10

ROSCOMMON 5

SLIGO 12

TRALEE 92

TRIM 40

TULLAMORE 18

WATERFORD 24

WEXFORD 28

WICKLOW 55

TOTAL 1,722

DUBLIN CIRCUIT COURT

In Dublin Circuit Court, awards were made orsettlements ruled by the Court in 434 personal injurycases in 2003. The lowest amount awarded was€535.00 the highest €73,358.

Amounts awarded incl.settlements ruled Number of cases

€0 to €9,999 227

€10,000 to €19,999 164

€20,000 to €29,999 33

€30,000 + 10

Total 434

PROVINCIAL CIRCUIT COURTS

In the Provincial Circuit Courts, awards were made orsettlements ruled by the court in 1,288 personal injurycases. The lowest amount awarded was €500, thehighest €71,330.94.


€0 to €9,999 501

€10,000 to €19,999 527

€20,000 to €29,999 225

€30,000 + 35

Total 1,288


CHAPTER 4

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98


ALL CIRCUIT COURTS

Awards were made or settlements ruled in a totalnumber of 1,722 personal injury cases in the CircuitCourt. The lowest amount awarded was €500.00, thehighest €73,358. The total amount awarded in allcases was €21,158,004


€0 to €9,999 728

€10,000 to €19,999 691

€20,000 to €29,999 258

€30,000 + 45

Total 1,722

FAMILY LAW (SEE ALSO APPENDIX II)

The Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with theHigh Court to hear applications for divorce, judicialseparation and nullity. In hearing such cases, theCircuit Court has jurisdiction to make ancillary orderssuch as custody and access, maintenance and barringorders. Applications for protection and barring ordersmay also be made directly to the Circuit Court,although the vast majority of such cases are taken inthe District Court.

DIVORCE APPLICATIONS

3,733 divorce applications were received in the CircuitCourt in 2003. 2,929 divorces were granted and 5were refused. There were 1,130 male applicants and1,799 female applicants in cases where a divorce wasgranted.

JUDICIAL SEPARATION

1,802 applications for judicial separation were receivedin the Circuit Court in 2003. 1,206 judicial separationswere granted. There were 328 male applicants and878 female applicants in cases where a separation wasgranted.

NULLITY

47 nullity applications came before the Circuit Courtsof which 33 were granted, 10 were refused and 4were withdrawn or struck out.

SECTION 33 APPLICATIONS

Applications under Section 33 of the Family Law Act,1995 to dispense with the necessity to give threemonth notice of intention to marry and/or allowpeople under the age of eighteen years to marry arealso dealt with by the Circuit Court. In 2003, a total of867 applications were dealt with by the Circuit Courtsof which 837 were granted.

CHANGING TRENDS:ORDERS GRANTEDDivorce Judicial Nullity

separation

1997* 93 1,431 3

1998* 1,408 920 23

1999* 2,315 967 34

2000 2,710 998 47

2001 2,817 1,018 59

2002 2,571 940 40

2003 2,929 1,206 33

* year ending on 31/7

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED2003 2002

Divorce 3,733 3,912

Judicial separation 1,802 1,871

Nullity 92 52

Section 33 892 936

Family law appeals 412 439

CHAPTER 4

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99

APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH IN 2003Granted Refused Withdrawn,

struck out/Adjourned

generally

Divorce 2,929 5 40

Judicial separation 1,206 4 82

Nullity 33 10 4

Section 33 837 30 0

APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH IN 2002Granted Refused Withdrawn,

struck out/

Divorce 2,571 2 27

Judicial separation 940 1 46

Nullity 40 5 3

Section 33 910 26 0

MALE/ FEMALE APPLICANTS (ESTIMATED)2003 Judicial Separation Divorce

Male applicants 328 1,130

Female applicants 878 1,799

MALE/ FEMALE APPLICANTS (ESTIMATED)2002 Judicial Separation Divorce

Male applicants 211 958

Female applicants 729 1,613

LICENSING

Applications for the creation of new licences such aspubs, hotels, special restaurant certificates, clubcertificates and the extension of existing licenses underthe intoxicating liquor laws are dealt with by theCircuit Court.

A total of 521 licences were granted last year, ofwhich 395 were pub licences and 56 were hotellicences. There were 47 special restaurant certificatesand 23 club certificates granted.

LIQUOR LICENCES GRANTEDPub Hotel Special restaurant Club Total

certificate

2003 395 56 47 23 521

2002 369 55 38 17 479


DUBLIN CIRCUIT

Civil

Cases which are ready to proceed are allocated thenext available date by the court office.

Criminal

Cases are returned to the present or next sitting of theDublin Circuit Criminal Court. At the beginning ofeach week, a call over list is presided over by a judgeand the trials and pleas identified. The judge assignsthe trials to different courts and deals with the pleas.Cases not ready to proceed are adjourned.

PROVINCIAL CIRCUITS

Civil

All new cases are returned for hearing to the nextsitting of the Circuit Court. Prior to thecommencement of each term, the County Registrareither calls over a list of cases or contacts the partiesto establish which cases are going ahead. Cases readyfor hearing are placed in the list for the court andcases not ready for hearing are adjourned to the nextsession.

Criminal

All new criminal cases are returned to the next sittingof the Circuit Court. On the first day of the sitting thejudge establishes which cases are ready to go aheadand allocates dates for hearing. Cases not ready forhearing are adjourned to the next session.

WAITING TIMES

Waiting times for all cases in the Circuit Court arelisted in Appendix III.


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

100


DISTRICT COURTThe District Court is a court of limited and localjurisdiction. The business of the court can be dividedinto four categories: criminal, civil, family andlicensing.

CASES DEALT WITH2003 2002

Criminal business 385,375 418,735

Family law business 23,678 23,316

Civil business 87,556 76,629

Licensing business 101,919 96,378

Total 598,528 615,058

CHANGING TRENDS: APPLICATIONS DEALT WITHCriminal Family law Civil Licensing

1996* 459,118 17,256 109,947 80,243

1997* 462,669 21,045 87,970 82,738

1998* 514,346 20,932 87,133 86,494

1999* 497,660 21,231 81,615 92,334

2000 446,705 23,329 79,240 93,867

2001 450,105 25,123 79,533 93,145

2002 418,735 23,316 76,629 96,378

2003 385,375 23,678 87,556 101,919* Year ending on 31/7

APPLICATIONS UNDER SECTION 107 ANDSECTION 108 OF THE ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION ACT, 1992

SECTION 1072003 2002

No. of applications received 1 0

No. of successful applications 1 0

SECTION 1082003 2002

No. of applications received 40 57

No. of successful applications 37 33

CIVIL BUSINESS

The civil jurisdiction of the District Court is as follows

• in contract, claims which do not exceed €6,348.69

• in actions relating to hire-purchase and credit salesagreements, claims where the hire-purchase priceof the goods or the amount of the agreement donot exceed €6,348.69

• in relation to tort, (except slander, libel, seduction,slander of title malicious prosecution and falseimprisonment), claims which do not exceed€6,348.69

• in ejectment proceedings for non-payment of rentor overholding in any class of tenancy, claims wherethe annual rent does not exceed €6,348.69

• in actions for wrongful detention of goods, claimswhere the value of the goods does not exceed€6,348.69.

87,556 civil cases were dealt with in 2003 in theDistrict Courts. In 2002, the total number of civil caseswas 76,629. The increase in civil cases in 2003 wasdue mainly to an increase in summary judgment cases(undefended debt or liquidated money demand claims)which rose from 33,476 in 2002 to 42,478 in 2003and also due to an increase in the amount ofenforcement orders made, which rose from 24,682 in2002 to 27,439 in 2003.

CHAPTER 4

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101

CIVIL APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH2003 2002

Ejectment proceedings 297 179

Summary judgment 42,478 33,476

Small claims 3,097 3,020

Ordinary civil process 6,904 7,600

Summonses of a civil nature 6,611 6,880

Examination orders 9,352 8,422

Instalment orders 11,974 10,430

Committal orders 6,108 5,788

Foreign judgement 5 42

Other 730 792

Total 86,826 75,837


DUBLIN DISTRICT COURT

Civil

Ordinary cases

Applicant is given a return date to allow time for suchmatters as service of the civil process

Family law cases

Emergency applications are dealt with immediately. Inrelation to all other applications, the court assigns thenext available date

PROVINCIAL DISTRICTS

Ordinary cases

Applicants select the date and cases are listed beforethe court on the date selected

Family law cases

Emergency applications are dealt with immediately. Inrelation to all other applications, thesolicitors/applicant select the date and cases are listedbefore the court list on the date selected.

WAITING TIMES

Waiting times for all cases in the District Court are inAppendix IV.

SMALL CLAIMS PROCEDURE

The Small Claims procedure is designed to deal withconsumer claims for up to €1,269.74 speedily,inexpensively and without the need to engage asolicitor. A small claim can be brought by an individualwho has purchased goods or services for private usefrom someone selling them in the course of abusiness.

TYPE OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED

2003 2002

Holidays 388 400

Professional services 52 60

Dry Cleaners 161 134

Building 97 164

Damage to Private Property 160 119

Key Money 588 376

Electrical Goods 208 166

Audio/Computer 147 160

Clothing 119 156

Shoes 63 67

Furniture 157 257

Carpets/Flooring 79 91

Doors/Roofs 115 102

Cars 216 205

Other 686 798

Total 3,236 3,255


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

102


CLAIMS DEALT WITH

2003 2002

Cases not covered by procedure 30 37

Cases not proceeded with 355 355

Decrees by default 380 386

Settled by Registrar 1,511 1,375

Referred to court 821 867

Total 3,097 3,020

CASES ADJUDICATED BY COURT

2003 2002

Decrees granted 510 463

Cases dismissed 125 115

Cases struck out/withdrawn 186 289

Total 821 867

CRIMINAL

The total number of criminal cases dealt with in 2002was 418,735. In 2003, it was 385,375. In DublinDistrict Courts, the number of criminal cases dealt within 2002 was 172,463. In 2003, it was 147,691.


DUBLIN DISTRICT COURT

Criminal

Computerised Summonses

Computerised summonses are allocated to a specificcourt by the court office on the next available date

Manual Summonses

Manual summonses are allocated to a specific court bythe court office on the next available date

Charge sheets

New charge sheets are brought directly to theappropriate court by An Garda Síochána where theyare immediately included in the court list

PROVINCIAL DISTRICTS

Computerised Summonses (Cork and Limerickonly)

Computerised summonses are allocated to a specificcourt by the court office on the next available date

Manual Summonses (all provincial offices)

S.I. No. 5, 1961 sets out the dates, times and venuesof court sittings in provincial court areas. An GardaSíochána or the prosecution select the court venueand date. Summonses which have been served areincluded in the court list for the return date on thesummons.

Charge sheets

New charge sheets are brought directly to theappropriate court by An Garda Síochána where theyare immediately included in the court list.

CASES DEALT WITH2003 2002

Summary cases 327,677 363,756

Indictable cases dealt with summarily 47,267 43,100

SUMMARY CASES2003 2002

Road traffic cases 236,315 265,449

Other summary offences 91,362 98,307

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

103

OUTCOMES

SUMMARY OFFENCES

2003 2002

Imprisonment/Detention* 10,432 10,936

Fines** 100,475 110,192

Community service 1,840 2,693

***Other 214,930 239,935

TOTAL 327,677 363,756

INDICTABLE CASES DEALT WITH SUMMARILY

2003 2002

Imprisonment/Detention* 7,448 6,865

Fines** 5,812 4,109

Community Service 1,043 1,221

***Other 32,964 30,905

TOTAL 47,267 43,100

* Maximum sentence that can be imposed by the District Court in respectof any offence is 12 months. The cumulative duration in respect ofconsecutive sentences cannot exceed two years.

** The maximum fine the District Court can impose depends on the offence.In general, the maximum fine which the District Court can impose inrespect of any one offence is €1,904.61

*** Other: probation, peace bond, strike out, adjourn generally, taken intoconsideration and dismiss

BAIL

BAIL RETURNS 2003Office Number of bails Amount of bail

received €

Athlone 29 14,076.49

Ballina 24 18,950.00

Ballinasloe 29 8,026.00

Bray 18 5,500.00

Carlow 134 52,971.13

Carrick on Shannon 23 9,789.00

Castlebar 32 24,870.00

Cavan 25 29,185.00

Clonakilty 50 18,166.50

Clonmel 63 112,805.20

Cork 828 304,439.30

Derrynea 22 10,765.00

Donegal 127 56,890.60

Drogheda 103 34,413.84

Dundalk 142 65,507.38

Ennis 204 119, 057.28

Fermoy 180 136,138.60

Galway 163 102,451.19

Gorey 66 44,693.72

Kilkenny 79 38,734.00

Killarney 35 15,070.00

Letterkenny 278 74,640.37

Limerick 335 137,626.67

Listowel 34 11,370.00

Longford 52 28,825.00

Loughrea 16 4,496.00

Mallow 105 85,491.84


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

104


Office Number of bails Amount of bail received €

Monaghan 374 266,706.92

Mullingar 57 43,299.83

Naas 32 3,780.00

Nenagh 18 6,605.00

Portlaoise 77 29,688.75

Roscommon 79 66,231.01

Sligo 78 32,238.52

Thurles 94 34,666.84

Tralee 59 195,762.23

Trim 53 274,596.00

Tuam 66 45,796.52

Tullamore 30 16,300.00

Waterford 157 64,970.00

Wexford 14 3,780.00

Youghal 130 75,135.78

Fines Office Dublin Metropolitan District 2,890 1,701,986.60

Swords 51 18,650.00

Dun Laoghaire 128 56,630.00

TOTAL 7,583 4,501,773.51

The statistics on pages 104 to 111 have beenextracted from the Criminal Case ManagementSystem. At the end of 2003, the system had beenimplemented in the Dublin Metropolitan District Courtand Limerick District Court:

*CASES OF A SEXUAL NATURE DEALT WITH INDUBLIN Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt withSummarily

Community service order 2 2 0 0

Detention 0 0 0 0

Detentionsuspended 0 0 0 0

Dismiss 8 8 78 75

Fines 5 5 18 15

Imprisonment 3 2 2 2

Imprisonment- suspended 2 1 2 3

Peace bond 1 1 1 1

Poor box 2 2 54 54

Probation 2 2 20 11

Struck out 9 9 41 39

Taken into consideration 4 4 38 21

Withdrawn 0 0 0 0

Total 38 36 254 221

Sexual offences returned for trial 74

Persons returned for trial on sexual charges 34

* Figures include Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Richmond, Chancery St, Children

Court (from 01/09/2003) and exclude Kilmainham and Tallaght

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

105

CASES OF A SEXUAL NATURE DEALT WITH INLIMERICK Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt withSummarily


Detention 0 0 0 0

Detention- suspended 0 0 0 0

Dismiss 0 0 0 0

Fines 0 0 0 0


Imprisonment- suspended 0 0 1 1

Peace bond 0 0 0 0

Poor box 0 0 0 0

Probation 0 0 1 1

Struck out 3 3 4 3


Withdrawn 0 0 0 0

Total 4 4 12 7

Sexual offences returned for trial 9

Persons returned for trial on sexual charges 6


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

106


*SPECIFIC ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN DUBLIN Dangerous Drink Parking Unauthorised

driving driving offences takings ofmotor vehicles

Summary Offenders Summary Offenders Summary Offenders Indictable OffendersOffences Offences Offences Offences

Dealt WithCOURT DETERMINATION Summarily

Community service order 0 0 4 4 0 0 17 17

Detention 25 18 4 4 0 76 63 0

Detention suspended 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 8

Dismiss 36 28 225 225 96 95 46 46

Fines 126 123 844 838 2022 1992 16 15

Imprisonment 27 23 23 20 0 0 84 55

Imprisonment suspended 3 3 5 5 0 0 18 15

Peace bond 1 1 2 2 0 0 3 3

Poor box 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

Probation 4 4 7 5 0 0 20 20

Struck out 255 166 318 315 3873 3838 137 127

Taken into consideration 56 43 93 91 25 18 79 69

Withdrawn 21 11 14 14 20 20 12 11

Reduced charge 25 25 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 581 447 1539 1523 6037 5964 516 449

* Figures include Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Richmond, Chancery St, Children’s Court (from 01/09/2003) and exclude Kilmainham and Tallaght

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

107

SPECIFIC TRAFFIC OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN LIMERICK Dangerous Drink Parking Unauthorised

driving driving offences takings ofmotor vehicles

Summary Offenders Summary Offenders Summary Offenders Indictable OffendersOffences Offences Offences Offences

Dealt WithCOURT DETERMINATION Summarily

Community service order 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3

Detention 3 3 0 0 0 0 4 3

Detention suspended 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 4

Dismiss 11 11 17 17 26 21 1 1

Fines 23 23 240 238 1,130 1,056 0 0

Imprisonment 26 18 13 13 0 0 17 16

Imprisonment suspended 1 1 3 3 0 0 2 2

Peace Bond 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Poor Box 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Probation 7 4 0 0 0 0 3 3

Struck out 46 34 24 22 3,444 3,158 14 14

Taken into consideration 38 28 39 37 10 9 27 23

Withdrawn 14 13 18 17 13 13 1 1

Reduced charge 29 29 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 199 165 355 348 4,623 4,257 76 70


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

108


*ASSAULT/PUBLIC ORDER OFFENCES DEALT WITHIN DUBLIN Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt withSummarily


Detention 128 95 0 0

Detention - suspended 14 14 0 0

Dismiss 2,624 2,113 5 5

Fines 996 868 2 2


Imprisonment -suspended 139 128 0 0

Peace bond 214 173 0 0

Poor box 540 533 0 0

Probation 217 133 0 0

Struck out 2,531 1,980 0 0

Taken into consideration 1,670 1,085 2 2

Withdrawn 167 132 2 2

Total 9,846 7,687 12 12

* Figures include Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Richmond, Chancery St,Children’s Court (from 01/09/2003) and exclude Kilmainham and Tallaght

ASSAULT/PUBLIC ORDER OFFENCES DEALT WITHIN LIMERICK Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt withSummarily


Detention 13 8 0 0

Detention - suspended 3 3 0 0

Dismiss 97 71 1 1

Fines 205 180 2 2


Imprisonment -suspended 69 62 0 0


Poor box 0 0 0 0

Probation 49 43 1 1

Struck out 731 519 13 13


Withdrawn 92 67 5 5

Total 1,842 1,306 25 25

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

109

*DRUGS OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN DUBLIN Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt with

Summarily


Detention 6 5 27 22


Dismiss 36 32 203 173

Fines 15 15 194 181


Imprisonment-suspended 5 5 33 31


Poor box 1 1 12 12


Struck out 55 34 390 287


Withdrawn 3 3 37 25

Total 206 162 1,318 1,007

Drug offences returned for trial 532

Persons returned for trial on drug offences 210


DRUGS OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN LIMERICK Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt with

Summarily


Detention 0 0 0 0


Dismiss 0 0 6 3

Fines 2 2 47 36



Peace bond 0 0 0 0

Poor box 0 0 0 0

Probation 0 0 11 8

Struck out 2 2 57 51


Withdrawn 0 0 11 9

Total 7 7 230 177

Drug offences returned for trial 15

Persons returned for trial on drug offences 6


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

110


*ALL ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES DEALT WITH INDUBLIN Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt with

Summarily

Adjourn generally 19 4 0 0


Detention 168 109 109 84


Dismiss 4,968 2,597 86 84

Fines 22,672 16,231 24 23




Poor box 100 99 0 0


Struck out 37,574 16,903 211 194

Taken into consideration 10,888 3,219 110 90

Withdrawn 337 146 17 16

Reduced charge 54 54 1 1

Total 77,841 40,095 750 660

Road traffic offences returned for trial 157

Persons returned for trial on road traffic offences 116


ALL ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES DEALT WITH INLIMERICK Court Summary Offenders Indictable Offendersdetermination offences offences

dealt with

Summarily

Community Service Order 3 3 4 4

Detention 5 4 7 6


Dismiss 310 182 2 2

Fines 4,067 3,251 1 1



Peace Bond 0 0 0 0

Poor Box 0 0 0 0

Probation 40 10 6 4

Struck Out 7,066 5,082 50 46

Taken into consideration 2,313 541 37 30

Withdrawn 443 212 2 2

Reduced charge 62 59 0 0

Total 14,469 9,459 142 127

Road traffic offences returned for trial 30

Persons returned for trial on road traffic offences 10

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

111

*LARCENY CASES DEALT WITH IN DUBLIN Court Indictable Offenders determination offences dealt with

summarily

Community service order 146 77

Detention 165 102

Detention- suspended 18 14

Dismiss 1,545 1,273

Fines 440 401

Imprisonment 531 1,046

Imprisonment - suspended 178 152

Peace bond 105 71

Poor box 314 313

Probation 391 189

Struck out 2,767 1,937

Taken into consideration 940 430

Withdrawn 126 94

Total 7,666 6,099

Larceny offences returned for trial 257

Persons returned for trial on larceny offences 108


LARCENY CASES DEALT WITH IN LIMERICK Court Indictable Offendersdetermination offences dealt with

summarily

Community service order 11 10

Detention 37 14

Detention- suspended 4 4

Dismiss 134 109

Fines 23 18

Imprisonment 107 74

Imprisonment - suspended 45 45

Peace bond 0 0

Poor box 0 0

Probation 69 27

Struck out 156 127

Taken into consideration 215 90

Withdrawn 4 4

Total 805 522

Larceny offences returned for trial 14

Persons returned for trial on larceny offences 4


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

112


JUVENILE CRIME

Until 30 April 2002, accused persons under the age of17 years were dealt with by the children courts. TheChildren Act, 2001, parts of which were commencedon 1 May 2002, raised this age to 18 years. TheDistrict Court is known as the Children Court whendealing with accused persons under the age of 18. Inmost provincial locations, the Children Court is held inconjunction with the normal sittings of the DistrictCourt. However, Children Court cases are heard atdesignated times, usually either before or after theother business of the District Court and are heard inthe presence of the parties involved and the mediaonly. In Dublin, these cases are dealt with in theChildren’s Court building in Smithfield. There arededicated children court sittings in Waterford, Limerickand Cork and Galway. The Children Court can dealwith all charges against children, except those that byreason of their gravity or other special circumstancesthe District Judge does not consider fit to deal with.

APPLICATIONS FOR COMMITTAL TO SPECIALSCHOOLS Determination 2003 2002

Juveniles committed to Industrial Schools 18 30

Juveniles committed to Reformatory schools 25 17

Applications for committal struck out/refused 32 6

Total 75 53

FAMILY LAW

In 2002, 23,316 family law cases were dealt with. In2003, the figure was 23,678. While the number ofdomestic violence cases decreased, there wereincreases in maintenance and guardianshipapplications.

In 2003, 9,881 domestic violence applications weredisposed of (a decrease 14% on 2002). The number ofmaintenance applications in 2003 was 4,683 (a 30%increase on 2002). The total number of guardianshipcases in 2003 was 5,623, (an increase of 13% on2002).

2003 - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 1996

Applications Granted Refused WithdrawnStruck Out

Barring orders 3,586 1,575 161 1,850

Safety orders 2,557 1,108 113 1,336

*Protection orders 3,109 2,814 79 205

Interim barring orders 629 531 30 68

* 11 Interim barring orders granted in lieu of protection orders.

2002 - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 1996

Applications Granted Refused WithdrawnStruck Out

Barring orders 4,067 1,740 155 2,172

Safety orders 2,814 1,187 94 1,533

*Protection orders 3,677 3,248 94 335

Interim barring orders 852 706 51 95

* 25 Interim barring orders granted in lieu of protection orders.

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

113

PROTECTION ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH(BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2003

Granted Interim Refused Withdrawn/barring struck outin Lieu

Spouse 1,618 11 49 119

Common law 872 19 56

Parent 290 4 22

Other 32 7 8

Health Board 2 0 0

Total 2,814 11 79 205

BARRING ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH (BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2003

Granted Refused Withdrawn/ Struck Out

Spouse 936 96 1,089


Parent 209 37 214

Other 2 0 3

Health Board 3 0 2

Total 1,575 161 1,850

SAFETY ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH (BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2003

Granted Refused Withdrawn/Struck Out

Spouse 670 50 812


Parent 105 30 130

Other 19 3 37

Health Board 0 0 0

Total 1,108 113 1,336

PROTECTION ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH(BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2002

Granted Interim Refused Withdrawn/barring struck outin lieu

Spouse 1,883 60 194


Parent 368 6 39

Other 50 3 1

Health Board 11 0 6

Total 3,248 25 94 335

BARRING ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH (BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2002


Spouse 1,014 105 1,360


Parent 222 22 270

Other 17 0 4

Health Board 0 0 0

Total 1,740 155 2,172

SAFETY ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH(BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2002


Spouse 652 41 938


Parent 139 17 193

Other 20 0 31

Health Board 13 2 2

Total 1,187 94 1,533


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

114


INTERIM BARRING ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALTWITH (BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2003


Spouse 312 20 31

Common law 125 7 28

Parent 94 3 9

Other 0 0 0

Health Board 0 0 0

Total 531 30 68

INTERIM BARRING ORDER APPLICATIONS DEALTWITH (BY STATUS OF APPLICANT) 2002


Spouse 405 36 61


Parent 118 4 5

Other 3 0 0

Health Board 0 0 0

Total 706 51 95

GUARDIANSHIP OF CHILDREN

APPLICATIONS FOR CUSTODY AND ACCESS 2003Applications Granted Refused Withdrawn

dealt with Struck Out

Custody & access 820 516 55 249

Custody only 690 408 35 247

Access only 2,837 2,110 72 655

Non-marital fathers Section 6(a) 1,276 960 39 277

Total 5,623 3,994 201 1,428

APPLICATIONS FOR CUSTODY AND ACCESS 2002Applications Granted Refused Withdrawn

dealt with Struck Out

Custody & access 727 491 23 213

Custody only 625 400 35 190

Access only 2,572 1,971 76 525

Non-marital fathers Section 6(a) 1,059 812 38 209

Total 4,983 3,674 172 1,137

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

CHANGING TRENDS1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Barring order applications 5,120 5,217 4,792 4,668 4,908 4,470 4,067 3,586

Barring orders granted 2,059 2,145 2,004 2,219 2,319 2,067 1,740 1,575

Protection order applications 3,716 4,352 4,409 3,619 4,381 4,263 3,677 3,109

*Protection orders granted 3,521 3,781 3,474 3,390 3,467 3,711 3,248 2,814

Safety order applications 272 1,792 1,779 2,039 2,336 2,903 2,814 2,557

Safety orders granted 188 739 837 970 988 1,232 1,187 1,108

Interim barring order applications 174 589 733 1,120 506 1,159 852 629

*Interim barring orders granted 170 543 677 1,002 415 1,007 706 531

* Some interim barring orders were granted on foot of applications for protection orders. Likewise some protection orders were granted on foot of interim barringorders.

115

MAINTENANCE 2003

Applications Granted Refused Withdrawndealt with Struck Out

Married & unmarried 4,635 3,172 149 1,314

Maintenance Act 1994 applications 5 4 0 1

Maintenance Foreign Jurisdictions Act, 1974 43 39 1 3

Total 4,683 3,215 150 1,318

MAINTENANCE 2002

Applications Granted Refused Withdrawndealt with Struck Out

Married & unmarried 3,541 2,455 99 987

Maintenance Act 1994 applications 12 11 0 1

Maintenance Foreign Jurisdictions Act, 1974 31 19 2 10

Total 3,584 2,485 101 998

SUPERVISION AND CARE ORDERS

A supervision order authorises a health board to visit achild periodically to satisfy itself as to the welfare ofthe child. It also enables the health board to giveadvice regarding that welfare.

A care order places a child in the care of a healthboard until he or she reaches the age of eighteen or ashorter period as determined by the court.

SUPERVISION AND CARE ORDERS 2003

Applications dealt with Orders granted

Supervision orders 426 413

Care orders 1,277 1,201

LICENSING

In 2003, 101,919 licensing cases were disposed of inthe District Courts. In 2002, the total was 96,378. Thebulk of licensing cases - special exemption applications- increased by over 4,000 in 2003. There wereincreases in most types of licensing business in theDistrict Courts in 2003.

LICENSING APPLICATIONS DEALT WITH2003 2002

Renewal of publican licences 1,458 1,340

Temporary transfer of licence 1,151 1,124

Annual dance licence 1,758 1,127

Temporary dance licence 322 366

Restaurant certificate 1,300 896

Special exemption orders 86,178 81,933

Lottery licence 1,363 1,218

Other 8,389 8,374

Total 101,919 96,378


CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

116


COURT FEES

Fees must be paid by persons using the courts formany of the operations relating to civil matters carriedout by each of the court offices. For example, if aperson wishes to lodge documents, a fee is oftenpayable. Court fees are prescribed by the Minister forJustice, Equality & Law Reform with the agreement ofthe Minister for Finance. Since the beginning of 2003,such fees are retained by the Service and included inthe Appropriation-in-Aid of the Service whichcontributes to the operating costs provided by theOireachtas.

The Service also collects a range of fees on behalf ofthe Land Registry and the Revenue Commissioners.The Land Registry fees are in relation to the access toLand Registry documents held locally in court offices.The fees collected on behalf of the RevenueCommissioners are excise duties due on certainapplications to court and to the provision of copies ofsome of these documents. This is mainly in relation tolicensing cases e.g. an application for a special licence.

FEES COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED2003 2002

(€000s) (€000s)

Revenue Commissioners 9,892 9,342

Retained by the Service 20,254 23,673

Land Registry 68 127

Total 30,214 33,142

Details of court fees are available on the Service’swebsite (www.courts.ie)

FINES

One of the penalties open to the courts when hearingcases is the imposition of a fine. When a fine isimposed, the Service collects the fine from theoffender. In many cases, these fines are collected bythe Service on behalf of the other Governmentagencies or public bodies e.g. fisheries fines aretransferred to the Department of Communications,Marine & Natural Resources. Prior to 2003, an elementof fines collected was retained by the Service as partof its Appropriation-in-Aid.

FINES COLLECTED AND TRANSFERRED

2003 2002(€000s) (€000s)

Exchequer (Motor Fines) 8,741 8,140

Revenue Commissioners 1,693 1,530

Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources 517 227

Exchequer 5,028 5,126

Total 15,979 15,023

CHAPTER 4

Court Statistics

2003

Report of the Rules Committees

118


This section contains reports from the RulesCommittees of the various court jurisdictions for 2003.

Superior Court Rules CommitteeThe Superior Court’s Rules Committee was establishedby Section 67 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 andreconstituted by Section 15 of the Courts of JusticeAct, 1953. Under Section 68 of the 1936 Act, thepower to make, annul or alter rules of court isexercisable by the Committee with the concurrence ofthe Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AT DECEMBER31ST 2003:

• The Chief Justice, the Hon. Mr. Ronan Keane(Chairman)

• The President of the High Court, the Hon. MrJustice Joseph Finnegan (Vice-Chairman)

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman, Judge of theSupreme Court

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Brian McCracken, Judge ofthe Supreme Court

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Richard Johnson, Judge of theHigh Court

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Liam McKechnie, Judge of theHigh Court

• The Master of the High Court, Mr. Edmond W.Honohan S.C.

• Mr. Michael Cush S.C., nominated by the Councilof the Bar of Ireland, who replaced Mr. PaulSreenan S.C., in October 2003

• Mr. Anthony Hunt B.L., nominated by the Councilof the Bar of Ireland

• Mr. Patrick Groarke, Solicitor, nominated by theLaw Society of Ireland

• Mr. Patrick OíConnor, Solicitor, nominated by theLaw Society of Ireland

• Mr. Matthew Feeley, Office of the Attorney General- appointed to act in place of the Attorney Generalunder Section 36(4) of the Courts and CourtOfficers Act, 2002

• Mr Noel Rubotham, Courts Service, to whommembership has been delegated by the ChiefExecutive Officer under Section 30(2) of the CourtsService Act, 1998

Ms. Maeve Kane, Registrar of the Supreme Court,replaced Mr John Dalton as the Secretary to theCommittee on his retirement in June 2003.

The Committee met on eight occasions during 2003.

The following Rules were made by the Committeeduring 2003 and had been signed by the Minister forJustice, Equality & Law Reform at year-end:-

S.I. No. 616 of 2003 - RSC (Fees Payable toCommissioners for Oaths), 2003

These Rules provide for an increase in fees payable toCommissioners for Oaths from €4 to €10 on taking anaffidavit, from €1.30 on marking exhibits, irrespectiveof number, to €2 for each exhibit up to a maximum of€30 and from €3.81 to €10 on attesting the executionof a bond.

S.I. No. 646 0f 2003 - RSC (Courts Martial AppealCourt Rules), 2003

This Rule amended an incorrect reference to S.I. 206 of1983 in Rule 1 of R.S.C. (No. 2) (Courts Martial AppealCourt Rules) (Amendment), 2000.

The following further Rules were made by theCommittee during 2003 and were awaiting signatureby the Minister for Justice Equality & Law Reform atyear-end:-

119

RSC (AVIATION REGULATION ACT 2001)

These Rules prescribe the procedure to be followed inapplications under Section 39 of the AviationRegulations Act, 2001.

RSC (PROOF OF LIQUIDATOR’S APPOINTMENT INCREDITORS’ VOLUNTARY WINDING-UP)

These Rules provide that the appointment of aLiquidator in a creditors’ voluntary winding-up may forthe purposes of Article 19 of Council Regulations (EC)No. 1346/2000 be evidenced by a certificate by theMaster of the High Court

RSC (ORDER 77 (AMENDMENT) RULES)

These Rules substitute a new Order 77 primarily tofacilitate the holding of records and maintenance ofaccounts in electronic form and to enable the paymentor transfer of funds to be transacted by electronicmeans.

RSC (ORDER 27 (AMENDMENT) RULES)

These Rules amend Order 27 with regard to default indelivery of a Statement of Claim or Defence and alsomake provision for setting aside an order dismissing anaction for want of prosecution or a judgment bydefault where the court is satisfied that specialcircumstances (to be recited in the order) existed whichexplain and justify the failure.

RSC (SHORTHAND REPORTING )

These Rules amend Order 123 by providing that anypractice whereby civil proceedings are reported at thepublic expense shall cease to operate from the date ofcommencement of the Rules. Proceedings begunbefore such commencement will not be affected.

RSC (COMMERCIAL PROCEEDINGS)

These Rules regulate the procedure for the entry andconduct of cases in the Commercial List.

The Committee also considered the implications of thedecision of the European Court of Human Rights inPrice & Lowe -v- The UK, the Report on the WorkingGroup on Criminal Jurisdiction, the 28th InterimReport of the Committee on Court Practice andProcedure and the question of the entitlement torepresentation in the Court of Criminal Appeal by anaccused’s former solicitor.

RULES RELATING TO THE FOLLOWING WEREUNDER ON-GOING CONSIDERATION BY THECOMMITTEE AT YEAR-END:-

• Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 2002

• Company Law Enforcement Act, 2001

• Freedom of Information Act, 2003

• European Convention on Human Rights Act, 2003

• Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act, 2003

Maeve KaneSecretary


120


Circuit Court Rules CommitteeTHE TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE COMMITTEEARE:

• to consider legislative changes at domestic and EUlevel and to amend Circuit Court Rules on practiceand procedure to take account of such changes,where appropriate

• to review and update as necessary, theconsolidated Circuit Court Rules, 2001

• to consider issues relevant to the Rules raised bymembers of the Committee and other partieshaving an interest in the practice and procedure ofthe Circuit Court.

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AT DECEMBER31ST 2003:

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Esmond Smyth, President ofthe Circuit Court (Chairman)

• Her Honour Judge Elizabeth Dunne, Judge of theCircuit Court

• Mr. Patrick Hunt S.C., nominated by the Council ofthe Bar of Ireland

• Mr. Fergal Foley B.L, nominated by the Council ofthe Bar of Ireland

• Mr. Gerard J. Doherty, Solicitor, nominated by theLaw Society of Ireland

• Mr. Joseph T. Deane, Solicitor, nominated by theLaw Society of Ireland

• Mr. Edmund Carroll, appointed to act in place ofthe Attorney General under section 36(4) of theCourts and Court Officers Act, 2002

• Mr. Noel Rubotham, Courts Service, to whommembership has been delegated by the ChiefExecutive Office under section 30(2) of the CourtsService Act, 1998

• Ms. Susan Ryan, County Registrar, Dublin, is theSecretary to the Committee

The Committee met on eight occasions during 2003.

His Honour Judge Carroll Moran, Judge of the CircuitCourt, resigned from the Committee during the courseof the year due to the difficulty in arranging meetingsto accommodate his extremely busy schedule onCircuit. He was a valued member and an activecontributor to the Committee. The Committee extendsits thanks and appreciation to him for his substantialcontribution over the years, in particular in respect ofthe consolidation of the Circuit Court Rules in 2001which was a major undertaking.

The Committee gave further consideration to Rules inrespect of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 andEqual Status Act, 2000 in the context of the Freedomof Information Act, 1997 and the judgment ofFinnegan J. in Minister for Justice v InformationCommissioner (2001) 3 IR 43 and following duedeliberation Rules were signed off and submitted tothe Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

In addition, the Committee signed off on Rules relatingto the following in 2003 and submitted them to theMinister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform, namely:

• The Jurisdiction and the Recognition andEnforcement of Judgements in Matrimonial Matters(Council Regulation (EC) No. 1347/2000)

• Service in Member States of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters(Council Regulation (EC) No. 1348/2900)

• The Jurisdiction and the Recognition andEnforcement of Judgements in Civil or CommercialMatters (Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001)

• The Restoration of Companies to the Registerpursuant to Section 12 of the Companies Act,1982 as inserted by Section 46 of the Companies(Amendment) (No. 2) Act,1999

• Protection of Employees (Part - Time Work) Act,2001 (Section 18)

• Carers Leave Act, 2001

121

The Rules referred to above were awaiting signature atyear-end.

The Committee gave due consideration to the ChildrenAct, 2001 and to the Data Protection (Amendment)Act, 2003.

The Committee recognised the need for rules on thepractice and procedures to be introduced in respect ofSection 39 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994.

Consideration was given to correspondence from theRevenue Solicitor.

The Committee continued its review of the CircuitCourt Rules, 2001 and in this regard received veryconstructive and helpful contributions from the CountyRegistrars throughout the country.

The Committee noted the 28th Interim Report of theCommittee on Court Practice and Procedure and islooking forward to the implementation of that Report.

During the course of the year, the Committee gavedue consideration to submissions and correspondencereceived from practitioners and other stakeholders inthe practice and procedure of the Circuit Court.

Susan RyanSecretary


122


District Court Rules CommitteeThe rule making authority for the District Court is theDistrict Court Rules Committee with the concurrenceof the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

Members of the Committee at December 31st 2003:

• The President of the District Court, His HonourJudge Peter A. Smithwick (Chairman)

• Judge Uinsin MacGruairc, Judge of the DistrictCourt

• Judge Mary Devins, Judge of the District Court

• Judge John P. Brophy, Judge of the District Court

• Judge Thomas E. O’Donnell, Judge of the DistrictCourt

• Mr. Hugh O’Neill, Solicitor, nominated by the LawSociety of Ireland

• Mr. Sean McMullin, Solicitor, nominated by the LawSociety of Ireland

• Mr Damien Colgan, B.L., nominated by the Councilof the Bar of Ireland

• Mr. David Kelly, Advisory Counsel, appointed to actin place of the Attorney General under Section36(4) of the Courts and Court Officers Act, 2002

• Mr. Noel Rubotham, Courts Service, to whommembership has been delegated by the ChiefExecutive Officer under section 30(2) of the CourtsService Act, 1998.

• Ms. Liz Hughes, Deputy Chief Clerk, DublinMetropolitan District Court, is the Secretary to theCommittee.

The Committee met on four occasions during 2003and considered and passed a number of Rules. Thefollowing Rules of the District Court were signed bythe Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reformbetween January 1st 2003 and December 31st 2003:

• S.I. No. 283 of 2003 District Court (TaxesConsolidation Act,1997)(Amendment) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 409 of 2003 District Court (Terms ofEmployment Information) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 410 of 2003 District Court (SmallClaims)(Amendment) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 411 of 2003 District Court (Estreatment ofRecognisances) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 412 of 2003 District Court (Theft and FraudOffences) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 484 of 2003 District Court (Appeals toCircuit Court) Rules, 2003

• S.I. No. 614 of 2003 District Court (Maintenance)Rules, 2003

RULES UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THECOMMITTEE AT YEAR-END:

• Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2003

• Children Act, 2001

• Refugee Act, 1996

• European Arrest Warrant Act, 2003

Liz HughesSecretary

2003

FinancialStatements

124


Expenditure and Income Data for the Year 2003

2003 2002€’000 €’000

Current Expenditure Salaries and wages 40,534 37,776Travel and subsistence 3,308 3,171Staff and judicial training 798 1,015Stenography and other fees 2,493 2,311Legal services 375 515Postal services 898 841Telecommunications 1,460 1,698Office equipment and materials 1,869 1,236Courthouse maintenance 5,665 4,397Heat, light and fuel costs 1,554 1,133Furniture and fittings 203 1,107Leases 6,216 5,155Consultancy 360 275Incorporated Council of Law Reporting of Ireland 41 41Incidental / miscellaneous costs 1,714 1,928

Total Current Expenditure 67,488 62,599

Capital Expenditure

Telecommunications Systems 2 399Computer systems 6,480 8,467Courthouses and other buildings 18,841 19,352

Total Capital Expenditure 25,323 28,218

Total Expenditure 92,811 90,817

Income (Appropriations-in-Aid)Fees 20,654 1,100Miscellaneous 914 5,126

Total Income 21,568 6,226

Net Expenditure 71,243 84,591

These figures are provisional and subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

125

Statement of Compliance - Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997

THE SERVICE UNDERTAKES TO COMPLY WITH THEPROMPT PAYMENTS OF ACCOUNTS ACT, 1997.

The following information is provided in accordancewith the Act and within the guidelines issued by theDepartment of Enterprise, Trade & Employment:

PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED TO ENSURECOMPLIANCE WITH THE ACT

The Service has procedures in place to ensure that allinvoices received are paid within the time limitsidentified on these invoices or, if no time limit isspecified, within the statutory time limit. While theprocedures have been designed to ensure compliancewith the Act, they only provide reasonable, and notabsolute, assurance against material non-compliancewith the Act.

These procedures operated in the financial periodunder review and, in the case of late payments, therelevant suppliers were notified and the interest duewas paid to them.

In accordance with the Prompt Payments of AccountsAct, 1997, the following information is provided inrespect of the financial period ending December 31st2003:

(a) Payment Practices

The Service makes payments to suppliers in accordancewith the terms specified on the respective invoices orthe conditions specified in individual contracts, ifappropriate. Since 2002, the standard terms are 30days.

(b) Late paymentsInvoice Amount No. of Amount of

Invoices Interest paid in €

Under €317 43 413

Over €317 461 19,590

Total 504 20,003

(c) Overall percentage of late payments to totalpayments and total interest paid

The overall percentage of late payments to totalpayments was 8.6%

The total amount of interest paid with respect to latepayments was €20,003


126


Poor Box Receipts Through Court Offices 2003

Opening Balance Receipts Payments Balance onat 01/01 Hand at 31/12

€ € € €

High Court Nil Nil Nil Nil

Circuit Court 14,137.81 2,700.00 4,491.55 12,346.26

District Court 197,084.52 997,886.14 998,325.87 196,644.79

Total * 211,222.33 1,000,586.14 1,002,817.42 208,991.05

* The opening balance at 01/01/03 was €13,471.10 less that the closing balance in the Annual Report for 2002 due to revised details provided by court offices

POOR BOX RECEIPTS THROUGH COURT OFFICES 2002

Opening Balance Receipts Payments Balance onat 01/01 Hand at 31/12

€ € € €

High Court Nil Nil Nil Nil

Circuit Court 30,192.55 34,581.99 44,681.73 20,092.81

District Court 182,028.33 899,876.13 877,371.06 204,600.62

Total *212,220.88 934,458.12 922,052.79 224,693.43

* The opening balance at 01/01/02 was €9,211.12 less that the closing balance in the Annual Report for 2001 due to revised details provided by court offices.

127

Office of the Accountant of the Courts of JusticeANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT

REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTANT OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The Accountant of the Courts of Justice is responsiblefor the preparation of the Statement of Account forthe year ended 30 September 2003 in accordancewith the Rules of Superior Courts, Order 77, Rule 96.The basis of preparation and the accounting policiesare set out on page 132.

MANAGEMENT OF COURT FUNDS

Since the establishment of the State, virtually all of therecords and systems used to support the managementand investment of court funds have been manual,using procedures and processes that have remainedlargely unchanged for decades. Such manual systemshave serious limitations when dealing with largevolumes of transactions across thousands of individualaccounts. Following an extensive review of all aspectsof the management of court funds a major changetook place during the period under review when on14th July 2003 a computerised funds accountingsystem (AGRESSO) went into operation in theAccountant’s Office. This has transformed the work ofthe Accountant’s Office bringing with it many benefitsthat will only be fully appreciated when the newsystem has been in operation for a full year, and thenew investment arrangements referred to below arefully implemented. Combined with the introduction oftechnology there was also a major organisationalrestructuring of the Office together with significantbusiness process redesign.

During the year proposals were put forward to theSuperior Courts Rules Committee seeking changes toOrder 77 that would enable the introduction ofcomputerisation to the Accountants Office, and enablethe benefits of computerisation to be taken advantageof. These proposals have been approved by the RulesCommittee.

The other area where significant progress has beenmade during the year was the joint appointment ofBank of Ireland Asset Management and State StreetGlobal Advisors as fund managers for all court funds.Four investment strategies have been agreed, withappropriate asset class mix that will be capable ofmeeting the specific requirements of individualbeneficiaries. By the 30th September 2003 theInvestment Management Agreement was virtuallycomplete and I can confirm that the first tranche ofcourt funds (€150m), representing funds of Wards ofCourt, were invested in the new strategies in earlyDecember 2003.

As I write, outline proposals are being prepared inrespect of legislation required to enable the CentralFunds Office to be established and to take account ofthe recommendations made in the various reviews thathave been carried out in this area.

FUNDS OF SUITORS ACTS

Prior to the introduction of computerisation in theAccountant’s Office referred to above an exercise wascarried out to:

1. reconcile all individual cash balances with the bank,and

2. ensure that the sum of all the cash balancesamounted to the sum held in the current account.

This was necessary in order to ensure the integrity ofdata being taken into the new computerised systemand also to satisfy audit requirements. This exerciseidentified a shortfall in the current account in theregion of €1.4m. On investigation it transpired thatpayments had been made from the current accountpursuant to various Funds of Suitors Acts whichpredated 1984.


128


SPECIFICALLY THE FOLLOWING AMOUNTS WEREWITHDRAWN UNDER THE FOLLOWING ACTS:

Funds of Suitors Act, 1966: £450,000 (€571,400)

Funds of Suitors Act, 1963: £ 50,000 (€63,500)

Funds of Suitors Act, 1959: £323,000 (€410,100)

Total: £823,000 (€1,045,000)

In addition it was established that there were 11 Actsof Parliament dating back to 1783, which also directedpayments out of the current account, and whichamounted to £325,151 (€412,800).

These two sums, when converted to Euro, amount to€1,457,800. The result of these transfers up to 1984was to create a potential shortfall on the court fundsas the amounts transferred exceeded the value ofdormant accounts at that time. This was recognised inthe legislation enabling these transfers, whereby anindemnity from the Central Fund was underwritten bythe Minister for Finance. Such an indemnity would becalled in, in the event of there being insufficient fundsavailable to discharge the liability to any beneficiaries.Such a situation has not arisen.

The Funds of Suitors Act, 1984, also provided for thetransfer of funds held by the Accountant to theExchequer, however, this transfer was confined tofunds that had been classified as dormant inaccordance with court rules and was not taken out offunds held in the current account as had happenedpreviously.

A note has been included on page 133, stating that anindemnity exists from the Minister for Finance inrespect of this potential liability. The Department ofFinance in a letter dated 6th January 2004 confirmedthat this is acceptable to it.

ACCOUNTING RECORDS

The Rules of the Superior Courts, Order 77, Rule 96,require that a statement of account should beproduced annually, detailing total funds received intocourt and total payments out of court. The statementis extracted from the books of account. For the greaterpart of the period under review the books of accountwere based on manual records and involved in excessof 24,000 documents in the year ended 30 September2003, handwritten by staff and, in turn, handwritteninto ledgers. As an interim measure the variousregisters in the Accountant’s Office have been mappedon to Lotus Approach databases, thereby providingsummarised data in respect of cash receipts and non-cash receipts, such as insurance policies, Form 9s(lodgements with defence), equities and otherinvestments and payments.

With effect from July 2003 a modern computerisedfunds accounting system came into operation and this,when in operation for a full year, will overcome thelimitations identified below in the current manualaccounting system. The manual system had a numberof inherent limitations including:

• bank reconciliations were prepared without the useof specialised reconciliation software;

• valuations in respect of non-cash receipts, such asinsurance policies, Form 9s (lodgements withdefence), equities and other investments were notreadily available;

• summarised data in respect of interest earned wasnot available. Interest is recorded in the year endaccount valuations and the closing valuations areshown in the Statement of Account. It was nothowever, possible to readily identify the actualamount received and paid out by the CourtsService due to limitations in the manual accountingsystem. There are in excess of 6,750 individualinterest-earning accounts.

129

With the exception of the identification of the amountof deposit interest received and paid by theAccountant during the year, all information on totalreceipts and payments was available for audit. Theauditors have drawn attention to this exception intheir audit report. The new computerised system putin place in July 2003 will address this issue in thefuture.

Through a combination of the introduction of amodern computerised financial system and theapplication of a new approach to the investment ofcourt funds the year 2003 has seen major changes tothe way in which court funds are managed andinvested.

Sean QuigleyAccountant of the Courts of Justice

12 March 2004


130


Audit Report to the Accountant of the Courts of Justice

We have audited the Statement of Account of theAccountant of the Courts of Justice on page 131.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THEACCOUNTANT OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE ANDAUDITORS

The Accountant of the Courts of Justice is responsiblefor preparing the Statement of Account in accordancewith the Rules of Superior Courts, Order 77, Rule 96.Our responsibilities, as auditors are set out in our letterof engagement dated 26 November 2001.

This report, including the opinion, has been preparedfor and only for the Accountant of the Courts ofJustice, and for no other purpose. We do not, in givingthis opinion, accept or assume responsibility for anyother purpose or to any other person to whom thisreport is shown or into whose hands it may come savewhere expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

We report to you our opinion as to whether theStatement of Account gives a true and fair view of thefunds held by the Accountant of the Courts of Justiceat 30 September 2003 and has been properly preparedin accordance with the Rules of the Superior Courts,Order 77, Rule 96. We state whether we haveobtained all the information and explanations weconsider necessary for the purpose of our review andwhether the Statement of Account is in agreementwith the books and records.

BASIS OF OPINION

We conducted our audit in accordance with our letterof engagement dated 26 November 2001. Our auditincluded an examination on a test basis, of evidencerelevant to the amounts and disclosures in theStatement of Account. It also includes an assessmentof whether the accounting policies are consistentlyapplied and adequately disclosed.

We planned our audit so as to obtain all theinformation and explanations which we considerednecessary in order to provide us with sufficient

evidence to give reasonable assurance that theStatement of Account is free from materialmisstatement, whether caused by fraud or otherirregularity or error. However, information in relation todeposit interest received and applied by financialinstitutions to deposit accounts was not available dueto limitations in the manual accounting system. Thereare in excess of 6,750 individual interest-earningdeposit accounts. As a result, the amount of interestearned on the deposit accounts is not disclosed in theStatement of Account and related notes. Confirmationof balances on deposit accounts at 30 September2003 was obtained by the Accountant of the Courtsof Justice and these balances have been included inthe Statement of Account.

QUALIFIED OPINION

Except for the disclosure of the amount of interestreceived into the deposit accounts during the year, inour opinion, the Statement of Account prepared bythe Accountant of the Courts of Justice for the yearended 30 September 2003 has been properly preparedin accordance with the Rules of the Superior Courts,Order 77, Rule 96.

With the exception alone of the disclosure of theamount of deposit interest received into the depositaccounts during the year:

• we have obtained all the information andexplanations we consider necessary for thepurposes of our review.

• the Statement of Account of the Accountant of theCourts of Justice for the year ended 30 September2003 is in agreement with the books and records.

The Statement of Account gives a true and fair view ofthe funds held by the Accountant of the Courts ofJustice at 30 September 2003.

PricewaterhouseCoopers19 March 2004

131

Office of the Accountant of the Courts of JusticeSTATEMENT OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2003

IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDER 77, RULE 96 OF THE SUPERIOR COURT RULES

2003 2002

€’000 €’000

Current Account

Opening Balance 1 October 2002 4,238 2,193

Total Receipts 192,298 270,983

Total Payments (185,716) (268,938)

Closing Balance 30 September 2003 10,820 4,238

Non-Cash Balances

Deposit Funds 384,526 386,236

Managed Funds 243,062 246,288

Government Funds 1,910 1,356

Insurance Policies 1,174 1,345

Equities 74,695 70,015

Total Non-Cash Balances 705,367 705,240

Total Funds 716,187 709,478

Sean QuigleyAccountant of the Courts of Justice

12 March 2004


132


Office of the Accountant of the Courts of JusticeNOTES TO STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30TH 2003

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Accounting Convention

The Statement of Account is prepared under thereceipts and payments basis, modified by the inclusionof investments at market value. Receipts and paymentsare only recognised to the extent that they have beenpresented and cleared in the bank.

Payments from Court as disclosed in the Statement ofAccount do not include cheques drawn anddespatched, but as yet unpresented in the bank. Atthe year-end, the value of these cheques amounted to€8,216,928 (€3,290,691*). Of the total chequesoutstanding at the year-end, €7,207,789(€1,879,628*) were outstanding less than one month.All other outstanding cheques are outstanding for lessthan 6 months, thus remain valid.

2. VALUATION OF INVESTMENTS

Listed investments are valued at their bid price wherethey are quoted on a recognised stock exchange.Insurance policies are valued at their surrender value asconfirmed independently by the insurance companies.Other investments are valued at their deposit valueincluding interest accrued at the year-end.

3. LODGEMENTS WITH DEFENCE

Lodgements with Defence (Form 9 receipts) are lodgeddirectly to deposit accounts and therefore do not flowthrough the cash account as a receipt into Court or apayment out of Court unless they are cashed andrepaid. Lodgements with Defence received during theyear amounted to €15,309,702 (€9,071,722*). Of thisamount €11,698,707 (€6,186,809*) remained inCourt at the end of the year and were included in thenon-cash balances at their relevant year-endvaluations. The remaining amounts received werecashed and paid out at a value of €3,620,975(€2,892,109*).

4. NON-CASH BALANCES

Non-cash receipts are included directly in theappropriate non-cash balances and therefore do notflow through the cash account as a receipt into Courtor a payment out of Court unless they are cashed andrepaid. The valuation of non-cash items received intoCourt during the year ended September 30th 2003amounted to €1,976,695 (€5,016,570*). Of thisamount, €538,300 (€2,302,162*) remained in Courtat the end of the year and was included in the non-cash balances at the relevant year-end valuations.

The remainder of the non-cash receipts were eithertransferred out of Court without being liquidated;€1,190,967(€2,526,303*), liquidated and paid out ofCourt during 2003; €38 (€nil*) or liquidated andreinvested into Court; €104,159(€230,419*). Thevaluation of non-cash receipts relating to prior yearsbut transferred out without being liquidated in thecurrent year was €1,333,816 (€7,767,205*)* Denotes 2002 figure

133

5. DEPOSIT INTEREST EARNED

Deposit interest earned is lodged directly to depositfund accounts by the financial institutions andtherefore does not flow through the cash account as areceipt into Court or a payment out of Court unlessthe deposit is cashed and repaid. It is not possible toquantify the amount of deposit interest earned for theyear, and the analysis between that included in depositfunds at the year-end and that cashed and paid outduring the year.

6. LIABILITY INDEMNIFIED BY MINISTER FORFINANCE

During the year, an exercise was undertaken toreconcile all individual folio cash balances with theoverall balance on the current account. This exerciseidentified a shortfall on the current account in theregion of €1.4m. Upon further investigation, it wasdiscovered that amounts totalling to €1,457,800 werewithdrawn from Court funds in accordance with the‘Funds of Suitors Acts’, 1959, 1963 and 1966respectively, and various Acts of Parliament datingback to 1783. An indemnity has been underwritten bythe Minister for Finance in respect of this potentialliability.


134


Glossary of Terms

Administration suit - a form of proceeding taken inorder to establish who is entitled to share in the estate(that is the property) of a deceased person and/or to havethe estate administered by the court where questionsarise in respect of the estate

Affidavit - a written statement made on oath

Appeal - a proceeding taken by a party to a casedissatisfied with a decision made, to a court havingauthority to review or set aside that decision

Appearance -a document which indicates that adefendant, after being served with a summons to aCircuit or High Court action, intends to defend the action

Average waiting time - the time between the courtoffices being notified that a case is ready to proceed tohearing/trial and the actual date for hearing/trial

Barring Order - an order preventing a spouse fromentering the family home or using or threatening violenceagainst the other spouse or family members

Bill of Sale - a document transferring or mortgaging ofan interest in movable property

Care Order - an order placing a child in the care of thehealth board until he or she reaches the age of eighteenor a shorter period as determined by the court

Caveat - a written notice to the court requesting thatnothing be done regarding the estate of a deceasedperson without notice to the party who entered thecaveat or his/her solicitor

Certified List - a list of cases which have been certifiedby Counsel as being ready for hearing

Civil Bill - a document used to start a case in the CircuitCourt. It gives details of the parties to the case anddetails of the claim that is being made

Claim - the assertion of a right. Taking a case againstsomeone is a way of making a claim

Commissioner for Oaths - a person entitled toadminister oaths and take affidavits

Courts-Martial Appeal Court - the name applied to theCourt of Criminal Appeal when hearing appeals fromcourts martial (military tribunals for the trial of membersof the defence forces on active service)

Deed Poll - a deed completed by one party only, oftenused to declare an intention to change a surname

Defence - a document delivered by the defendant to theplaintiff in response to a Civil Bill or a Plenary Summons

Defendant - a person against whom an action isbrought; a person charged with a criminal offence

Deponent - the person who swears an affidavit

Emergency care order - an order placing a child underthe care of the health board for a maximum period ofeight days if the court is of the opinion that there is aserious risk to the health or welfare of a child

Enduring Power of Attorney - a document providingfor the management of a person’s affairs in the event oftheir becoming mentally incapacitated

Estreatment - the process whereby a court can call inthat part of a recognisance (bond) which has not alreadybeen paid into court when a person has been in breachof the terms of the bond

Ex officio - by virtue of his/her office

Ex parte - without notice to the other side of an action

In camera - a court hearing to which the public is notadmitted

Indictment - a formal document setting out certain kindsof charges against an accused person or the process bywhich those charges are presented against the accused

Indictable offence - an offence which, if committed byan adult, is triable on indictment

Injunction - an order of the court directing a party to anaction to do, or to refrain from doing, something

Interim barring order - an immediate order requiring aviolent person to leave the family home, pending thehearing of an application for a barring order

Interim care order - an order, granted when anapplication for a care order has been or is about to bemade, requiring that the child named in the order beplaced in the care of the health board

Intestate - Dying without making a valid will

Judicial Review - a legal remedy available in situationswhere a body or tribunal has acted in excess of legalauthority or contrary to its duty

135

Judicial separation - a decree granted by the courtrelieving spouses to a marriage of the obligation tocohabit

Jurisdiction - (a) the power of a court or judge to hearan action, petition or other proceeding, or (b) thegeographical area within which such power may beexercised

Mortgage suit - a form of proceeding to recover a debtowed to the holder of security on property - by forcingthe sale of the property (usually on foot of a judgmentmortgage or an equitable mortgage)

Nolle Prosequi - the entering by the prosecution of astay on criminal proceedings (not to be confused with anacquittal)

Notary Public - a legal practitioner, usually a solicitor,who witnesses the signing of documents or makes copiesof them in order to verify their authenticity, especially foruse abroad

Oath - a form of words by which a person calls his/herGod to witness that what he says is the truth, or thatwhat he/she promises to do he will do

Original actions - actions begun in the court of hearing(as opposed to cases appealed from a lower court)

Plaintiff - a person who brings a legal action againstanother

Plenary Summons - document used to begin certain civilproceedings (e.g. claims for non-specific damages, libel,nuisance) in the High Court where pleadings and oralevidence are required

Power of Attorney - a deed by which one personallows another to represent him, or act in his place eithergenerally or for specified purposes

Protection Order - an interim order, granted when anapplication for a safety/barring order has been made,prohibiting a person from committing further acts ofviolence or threatening of violence

Recognisance - an obligation or bond, made before acourt, whereby a person agrees to perform some act e.g.ensure that an accused person attends at his/her trial.

Revenue Summons - a form of Summary Summonsheard on affidavit, used by the Revenue Commissioners

to commence civil proceedings in the High Court torecover sums due (e.g. unpaid taxes)

Safety Order - an order prohibiting a person fromcommitting further acts of violence or threatening to doso. It does not prevent the person from entering thefamily home

Seat Office - part of the Probate Office in Dublin whereapplications by solicitors for grants of probate andadministration are processed

Setting down for trial - a request that an action beallocated a date for hearing

Special Exemption Order - an order allowing a licenseeto sell alcohol outside the normal licensing hours subjectto certain conditions

Special Summons: document used to begin certain civilproceedings (e.g. equity claims, mortgage enforcement,administration of trusts) in the High Court to be heard onaffidavit (that is, not oral evidence)

Subpoena - an order issued in an action requiring aperson to be present at a specified place and time for aspecified purpose under penalty

Subpoena ad testificandum - to attend and giveevidence

Subpoena duces tecum - to attend and produce certainspecified documents

Summary Judgment - judgment for a claim in respectof a debt or specific monetary demand. The judgment isgiven to the Plaintiff against the Defendant in a courtoffice without needing to bring the claim to court

Summary Summons : document used to commencecertain civil proceedings (e.g. claims for a specific amountof money, recovery of possession by a landlord) in theHigh Court, to be heard on affidavit

Supervision order - an order authorising a health boardto visit a child periodically to satisfy itself as to the child’swelfare and enabling the health board to give adviceregarding the child’s welfare


136


Additional Information

CONTACTING OFFICES OF THE SERVICE

Contact details for the main offices of the Service arepublished on the website (www.courts.ie). Details mayalso be obtained from the Information Office, CourtsService, Phoenix House, 15/24 Phoenix Street North,Smithfield, Dublin 7. Telephone: 01-8886462

EIRCOM TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES

Telephone numbers for the main offices of the Serviceare contained in the green pages section of the currenteircom telephone directories.

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

Details of court cases at hearing in the High Court inDublin are displayed daily on the electronic board atthe Information Desk off the Round Hall in the FourCourts.

The Legal Diary providing details of cases for hearingon specific days in the Supreme Court, the Court ofCriminal Appeal, the High Court (including the CentralCriminal Court) and the Circuit Court (Dublin andDundalk) is published daily on the website.

The Annual Reports of the Service for the years 2000,2001 and 2002 together with the Strategic Plan,Customer Service Action Plan and other publicationsincluding those referred to in Chapter 2 are publishedon the website.

Copies of all publications are available from theInformation Office.

WEBSITE

The website can be accessed at www.courts.ie

SOLICITORS

McCann Fitzgerald,Solicitors,2 Harbourmaster Place,International Financial Services Centre,Dublin 1.

AUDITORS

The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General,Treasury Block,Lower Yard,Dublin Castle,Dublin 2.(Appropriation Accounts)

PriceWaterhouseCoopers,Wilton Place,Dublin 2.(Annual Statement of Account, Office of theAccountant of the Courts of Justice)

2003

Appendices

138


Circuit Court: CountrywideCRIMINAL CASES CIVIL CASES FAMILY LAW CASES HIGH COURT APPEALS

CRIMINAL DISTRICT CIVIL MOTIONS DISTRICT LIQUOR JUDICIAL DIVORCE NULLITY SECTION 33 DISTRICT CRIMINAL CIVIL FAMILY BUSINESS COURT TRIALS DEALT COURT CIVIL LICENCES SEPARATION GRANTED GRANTED APPLS. FAMILY LAW APPEALS APPEALS LAW

DEALT APPEALS DEALT WITH APPEALS GRANTED GRANTED GRANTED APPEALS APPEALS CIRCUIT COURT WITH HEARD WITH HEARD HEARD

CARLOW 23 54 99 392 10 10 11 34 0 33 8 0 3 0

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON 10 43 57 105 4 5 5 14 0 4 7 0 2 4

CASTLEBAR 29 100 245 638 0 18 24 45 3 16 6 0 17 7

CAVAN 53 97 60 217 5 17 15 35 0 19 2 0 7 0

CLONMEL 45 179 582 927 19 19 19 70 0 22 11 0 49 1

CORK 299 865 2,161 3,351 142 47 215 357 9 66 123 64 2 10

DUBLIN 1,041 6,900 4,225 9,596 154 86 432 1,032 8 264 135 n/a n/a n/a

DUNDALK 127 119 421 860 22 12 40 71 1 32 35 0 9 0

ENNIS 35 195 241 693 8 11 14 64 0 23 0 0 8 5

GALWAY 51 169 300 1,959 61 19 37 110 6 31 6 0 28 6

KILKENNY 21 68 131 451 3 14 14 56 0 18 3 0 12 1

LETTERKENNY 33 90 412 822 20 34 48 85 0 40 5 0 38 11

LIMERICK 78 876 794 937 35 36 43 105 2 50 24 7 39 1

LONGFORD 9 39 65 187 8 7 6 19 0 9 3 0 11 0

MONAGHAN 28 77 177 272 2 10 17 23 0 24 3 0 5 0

MULLINGAR 40 60 137 308 0 11 15 69 0 9 5 0 17 0

NAAS 83 206 356 933 19 32 37 88 0 29 5 5 12 1

PORTLAOISE 18 63 122 240 6 10 10 33 0 20 6 0 5 0

ROSCOMMON 20 65 120 240 4 4 9 33 1 6 0 0 9 6

SLIGO 32 51 195 488 9 10 20 61 0 17 0 0 11 3

TRALEE 58 212 368 638 9 26 32 100 0 19 25 0 19 5

TRIM 40 55 375 783 7 16 41 57 0 36 4 0 14 6

TULLAMORE 12 96 37 166 1 10 12 43 0 17 6 0 0 1

WATERFORD 42 69 81 500 17 10 37 84 0 0 8 0 0 0

WEXFORD 40 84 184 101 19 30 20 125 0 0 9 0 3 0

WICKLOW 58 99 261 529 2 17 33 116 3 33 2 0 13 5

TOTAL 2,325 10,931 12,206 26,333 586 521 1,206 2,929 33 837 441 76 333 73

APPENDIX I

Circuit Court: Family Law


DIVORCE CASES JUDICIAL SEPARATION CASES NULLITY CASES SECTION 33 CASES APPEALS

RECEIVED GRANTED REFUSED WD/SO RECEIVED GRANTED REFUSED WD/SO RECEIVED GRANTED REFUSED WD/SO RECEIVED GRANTED REFUSED RECEIVED DEALT CIRCUIT COURT ADJ GEN WITH

CARLOW 57 34 0 0 14 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 33 1 10 8

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON 14 14 0 0 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 3 7

CASTLEBAR 65 45 0 0 46 24 0 4 2 3 0 0 17 16 1 6 6

CAVAN 32 35 2 0 19 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 19 1 1 2

CLONMEL 104 70 0 0 48 19 0 7 2 0 0 0 22 22 0 19 11

CORK 582 357 0 3 417 215 0 11 35 9 0 0 67 66 1 50 123

DUBLIN 1,326 1,032 0 14 543 432 4 12 21 8 5 0 293 264 10 135 135

DUNDALK 99 71 0 0 46 40 0 0 0 1 0 0 32 32 0 43 35

ENNIS 68 64 0 0 39 14 0 0 3 0 0 0 24 23 1 0 0

GALWAY 110 110 0 0 37 37 0 0 6 6 0 0 35 31 4 6 6

KILKENNY 61 56 0 3 28 14 0 4 0 0 0 0 21 18 0 7 3

LETTERKENNY 78 85 0 0 36 48 0 1 1 0 0 0 40 40 0 10 5

LIMERICK 122 105 2 8 88 43 0 8 2 2 3 0 50 50 0 27 24

LONGFORD 25 19 0 2 10 6 0 3 1 0 0 0 10 9 0 5 3

MONAGHAN 40 23 0 0 20 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 24 0 2 3

MULLINGAR 81 69 0 2 31 15 0 10 3 0 0 1 11 9 0 4 5

NAAS 133 88 0 0 67 37 0 0 3 0 0 0 31 29 2 13 5

PORTLAOISE 33 33 0 0 13 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 20 2 8 6

ROSCOMMON 50 33 0 0 19 9 0 0 1 1 0 0 6 6 0 4 0

SLIGO 72 61 0 1 25 20 0 1 0 0 0 0 16 17 0 1 0

TRALEE 78 100 0 0 43 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 19 1 28 25

TRIM 122 57 0 0 64 41 0 0 6 0 0 0 39 36 3 10 4

TULLAMORE 64 43 0 0 11 12 0 0 2 0 2 0 18 17 1 7 6

WATERFORD 97 84 1 0 47 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 8

WEXFORD 111 125 0 0 34 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

WICKLOW 109 116 0 7 47 33 0 21 4 3 0 3 34 33 1 4 2

TOTAL 3,733 2,929 5 40 1,802 1,206 4 82 92 33 10 4 892 837 30 412 441

139

APPENDIX II

140


Circuit Court: Average Waiting TimesCRIMINAL CIVIL FAMILY LAW

CASES CASES CASES

CIRCUIT COURT CASES APPEALS CASES APPEALS JUDICIAL DIVORCE NULLITY APPEALSSEPARATION

CARLOW 3-6 months 3-6 months Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON Next session Next session 3 months 3 months Next session Next session Next session Next session

CASTLEBAR Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

CAVAN 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

CLONMEL Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

CORK 9-12 months 6-9 months 18 months 9 months 12 months 12 months 12 months 6-9 months

DUBLIN 1 month 1 month 1 month - 1 month Consent - Consent - Consent 3 monthslonger cases 6 weeks 6 weeksup to 4 months Contested - Contested - Contested

3 months 3 months - 3 months

DUNDALK Next session Next session 3-6 months 3-6 months Next session Next session Next session Next session

ENNIS Next session Next session 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

GALWAY Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

KILKENNY 15 months Next session 15 months Next session 15 months 15 months 15 months Next session

LETTERKENNY 3-6 months 3 months 9-12 months 9-12 months 6 months 3 months Next session 3 months

LIMERICK 3 months Next session 9 months 9 months Next session Next session Next session Next session

LONGFORD Next session Next session 12-18 months Next session 6 months Next session Next session Next session

MONAGHAN 9 months Next session 6-12 months Next session Consent - Consent - Next session 3 monthsNext session Next sessionContested - Contested -6-9 months 6-9 months

MULLINGAR Next session Next session 3 -6 months 3 - 6 months Next session Next session Next session Next session

NAAS Next session Next session 6 months 6 months 3 months 3 months 3 months 3 months

PORTLAOISE Next session Next session 6 months Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

ROSCOMMON 3 months Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

SLIGO 3 months 3 months 9 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

TRALEE 2 years Next session 18 months 18 months 3-6 months 3-6 months Next session 3-6 months

TRIM Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

TULLAMORE Next session Next session 6-9 months Next session Next session Next session Next session Next session

WATERFORD 9 months 6-9 months 9-12 months 9-12 months 6-9 months 6-9 months 6-9 months 6-9 months

WEXFORD 6-12 months 12 months 18-24 months Next session Consent - Consent - Consent - Next sessionNext session Next session Next sessionContested - Contested - Contested -12-18 months 12-18 months 12-18 months

WICKLOW Next session Next session Next session Next session Consent - Consent - Consent - 3-6 monthsNext session Next session Next sessionContested - Contested - Contested -3-6 months 3-6 months 3-6 months

The term next session means that the case will be dealt with at the next court sittings in the venue concerned. While cases may be listed for hearing for a particularsitting, unusual circumstances, for example a long criminal trial, may lead to the adjournment of other listed cases to the following session. The duration of, andtime between, court sittings will vary from circuit to circuit, but in general the Circuit Court sits every two to four months in provincial venues. In Dublin there aredaily sittings throughout each term.

APPENDIX III

141

District Court: Average Waiting TimesCRIMINAL CASES


5 months from the date of a person’s first courtappearance / date of receipt of application for asummons to hearing date

Provincial District Courts

CORK

2 1/2 months from the date of a person’s first courtappearance/ date of receipt of application for asummons to hearing date

OTHER PROVINCIAL DISTRICT COURTS

Generally no delay in cases receiving hearing dates. Ofcourse, not all cases can be dealt with immediately. Forexample, a case where there is a number of witnessesor in which there may be complex issues to considermay not go ahead on the day on which the case firstcomes for hearing. If such cases cannot be dealt with,Judges will set special sittings

FAMILY LAW CASES

Dublin District Court

12 weeks from the date of issue of the summons tothe date of hearing of application


CORK

7 to 8 weeks from date of issue of the summons toinitial date for hearing


In general, there is no delay in hearing family lawcases in the provincial district courts as cases are listedfor the next sitting in the District Court Area

CIVIL CASES


6 weeks from date of issue of summons to initial datefor hearing


CORK

3 months from date of issue of summons to initialdate for hearing


Generally no delay. Outside Dublin and Cork City civilcases tend to be dealt with by way of special sittingsand this can lead to some delays in completing same


APPENDIX IV

142


Notes

143


144
