Court of Appeal
Establishment of Court
The Court of Appeal 2014 put the legislative arrangements in place which are necessary to facilitate the establishment of a Court of Appeal at a level between the High Court and the Supreme Court, as approved by Referendum on 4 October 2013. The Act provides for the establishment, in accordance with the terms of Article 34A of the Constitution.
The Court of Appeal is a superior court of record. Subject to the Constitution and the Act, it has all the jurisdiction which, immediately before the establishment day, was vested in or capable of being exercised by, the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Courts-Martial Appeal Court.
The Court of Appeal may sit in divisions of three judges, which divisions may sit simultaneously. Interlocutory applications may be heard either by the President of the Court of Appeal sitting alone, or by another judge sitting alone who has been nominated for that purpose. There is a single judgment rule in criminal appeal cases, as was the practice in both the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Special Criminal Court at the moment.
The Court of Appeal (in addition to the High Court and the Supreme Court) may make a declaration that a statutory provision or rule of law is incompatible with the State’s obligations under the European Convention provisions.
Jurisdiction
The Court Martials Appeal Court is abolished and its jurisdiction is transferred to the Court of Appeal. The civil legal aid scheme is applicable to the court.
Periods of practice both as a barrister or solicitor are sufficient to qualify a person for judicial office. Up to 12 year service is required in the case of appointment to the superior courts.
The Court of Appeal is given power to make a declaration that a provision or rule of law is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Criminal Justice Acts are amended generally to provide for appeal to the Court of Appeal rather than the Supreme Court. Generally, references in legislation to the Supreme Court are or may  be interpreted as references to the Court of Appeal as circumstance require. Specific legislation is amended to so provide for particular instances.
Where legislation provides for an appeal to the Supreme Court, it is to be interpreted as a reference to the Court of Appeal, unless the context otherwise requires.
Reference is in legislation to the decisions of the High Court being final and not subject to appeal are to interpreted as subject the existence of the Court of Appeal.
Appeals & Supreme Court
References in legislation concerning appeals to the Supreme Court should be construed as appeals to the Court of Appeal. References to the Court of Criminal Appeal and to the Courts-Martial Appeals Court shall be construed as references to the Court of Appeal.
There are limitations in legislation on an appeal to the Supreme Court. The limitation is to be interpreted as applying to the Court of Appeal. This is without prejudice to Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution to the effect that the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction from decisions of the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
The Court of Appeal may stay proceedings to enable parties to apply to Supreme Court in certain circumstances in respect of an appeal from a decision of the High Court. The purpose of this would be to enable the applicant to apply to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the decision of the High Court under +Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution.
Provisions in legislation that decisions of the High Court are final and not subject to further appeal shall be construed as excluding any appeal to the Court of Appeal. This is without prejudice to Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution to the effect that the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction from decisions of the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
The provisions in relaiton to the register of reserved judgments apply to the Court of Appeal .
Court of Criminal Appeal
This jurisdiction of the Court of Criminal Appeal is vested in the Court of Appeal. The responsibilities of the registrar of the Court of Criminal Appeal are transferred to the newly established registrar of the Court of Appeal form the Registrar of the Supreme Court, who formerly exercised such function.
A judge of the Court of Appeal may be appointed
- as chairperson or deputy person of the Irish Financial Services Appeal Authority
- a member of the Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee
- to hear appeals under the Seanad Electoral Acts;
- as chairman of the Appeals Committee hearing appeals under the Greyhound Industry Act against refusal of licenses and other decisions in relation to licenses.
Where there are insufficient judges of the Supreme Court due to illness or other reasons, the Chief Justice may request an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal or High Court to sit on the hearing of an appeal as an additional judge.
The Judges
The Court of Appeal is to have a President and 9 ordinary judges. The Chief Justice and President of the High Court are ex officio additional judges of the Court.
The President of the Court of Appeal shall be ex officio an additional judge of the other Superior Courts. Ordinary judges of the Supreme Court or the High Court may sit as additional judges of the Court of Appeal when, because of illness of for other reasons, there are insufficient judges available to transact the business of the Court of Appeal.
The 2014 Act sets out the order of precedence between the judges of the Court of Appeal and existing judges. It applies to the Court of Appeal certain existing provisions
concerning the manner in which judges are to be addressed.
Appointment & Illness
The provision extends to the President of the Court of Appeal the existing provision that appointment to the positions of Chief Justice and other presiding judges is to be for a 7-year period.
The Government, when considering appointments to the office of Chief Justice or President of the other courts, including the Court of Appeal, should have regard in the first instance to the suitability of persons who are already serving as judges. If a serving judge is to be appointed to a Court, such a person does not go through the JAAB process.
There are provisions for arrangements which apply when the Chief Justice or the President of the Court of Appeal, or the President of the High Court is unable to transact the business of his or her office, because of illness or for some other reason. Completion of partly heard cases by judge appointed to higher court concerns the completion of the hearing where the relevant judge hearing the original case is appointed to a higher court.
The usual retirement age of a judge of the Court of Appeal will be 70.
Administration
The President of the Court of Appeal has a role in the distribution and allocation of the business of the Court and the convening and dissolution of the divisions.
There are additional members of the Superior Courts Rules Committee consequent upon the establishment of the Court of Appeal and provides that the President of the Court of Appeal will be its vice-chairperson.
Membership of the Board of the Courts Service is extended to the President of the Court of Appeal and an elected judicial member of that Court. The provision for an extra judge to be nominated to the Board by the Chief Justice because of his or her particular expertise in a specific area of court business is deleted.
There is a Registrar of the Court of Appeal. The provisions relating to that Office mirror those which apply to the Supreme Court. There are deputies for the Registrar of the Court of Appeal.
The provisions for the establishment of combined court offices (in the interests of overall administrative efficiency) apply to the Court of Appeal.
The 2014 Act removes responsibility for the Court of Criminal Appeal, the jurisdiction of which Court is being vested in the Court of Appeal, from the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
The officers of an office attached to a particular Superior Court shall not be assigned additional duties without prior consultation with the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal or the President of the High Court, as the case may be.
CA Judges Assisting
Where there are insufficient judges of the High Court to transact the business of that Court, the existing provision that an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court may temporarily sit in the High Court is amended to provide that an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal may also so sit. No judge is to hear an appeal from a judgment or order he or she has made.
Where there is an insufficiency in the number of Supreme Court judges, due to illness or for any other reason, the Chief Justice may request an ordinary judge of either the Court of Appeal or of the High Court to sit in on the hearing of any appeal or other matter as an additional judge. The 2014 Act extends to judges of the Court of Appeal the provisions relating to the ways in which a judicial office may be vacated
Where the Supreme Court sits in divisions, those divisions may include the President of the Court of Appeal. A judge of the Court of Appeal may exercise the jurisdiction enjoyed by other judges to bind persons to the peace or to be of good behaviour.
Appointment to Other Roles
A judge of the Court of Appeal may be appointed as Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal. A a judge of the Court of Appeal may be a member of the Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee.
A judge of the Court of Appeal may be Chairman of the Appeal Board which hears appeals from decisions of the Seanad returning officer under the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act
A judge of the Court of Appeal may act as chairperson of the Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board. A judge of the Court of Appeal may be appointed to inquire into the conduct of designated officers of the Garda SÃochána Ombudsman Commission.
A former judge of the Court of Appeal may be appointed as Chairperson of a range of Boards and Committees established by the Building Control Act.
A judge of the Court of Appeal may be a member of the Adoption Authority. The exemption which is given to certain persons, including serving and retired judges, in the context of an Oireachtas Committee obtaining evidence extends to the Court of Appeal.
A former judge of the Court of Appeal may be appointed as Chairperson of the Referendum Commission.
The provision of tax clearance certificates and evidence of compliance with the various tax Acts is required where a person who is not a holder of judicial office is to be appointed to such office.