The Gazette 1993

APRIL 1993

GAZETTE

L A W B R I E F

Cavan 1987-1989. Effective Video Surveillance

above, readers may be interested in noting that the position of a judge of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar was advertised recently. The person to be appointed would also be called upon to discharge such functions of the Office of i Chief Justice, as may be specified in the instrument of appointment. Both I solicitors and barristers were eligible for appointment. Persons had to be legally j qualified solicitors and barristers, with extensive experience of civil and criminal law. Will the day ever come when vacancies forjudges in the High and Supreme Court will be advertised in Ireland in the national media, with a stipulation to the effect that both solicit- i ors and barristers are eligible to apply? | Disgraceful Condition of Courthouses Much of the courthouse accommodation badly needs to be upgraded, according ; to the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr. O'Dea. Mary Harney, TD, had asked whether the Minister for Justice would agree that | the facilities in courthouses were an l absolute disgrace, unlike the facilities in most Garda stations, which were among the best in Europe. She noted that the ; vociferous campaign pursued by the | Gardai ten to fifteen years ago had borne fruit. The Minister for State replied that £1.25 million in 1993 would be sufficient to allow the State to proceed with the equipping of a new court building in Cork and the execution of certain works in Galway, together with rectifying certain problems in relation to courthouses in Carrick-on- Shannon, Clonmel and Drogheda. The Minister stated that a total of six civil actions had been initiated to date j against the Minister for Justice arising from the failure of local authorities to maintain courthouses in proper repair and conditions. These are in respect of the courthouses at Carrick-on-Shannon, Clonmel and Drogheda. Three previous j cases which were successfully taken by local practitioners related to Drogheda i in 1972, Waterford 1981-1983 and

By Dr. Eamonn G. Hall, Solicitor Question Time on Justice During Question Time in the Dáil on 30 March last, the Minister for Justice Ms. Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, and the | Minister of State at the Department of j Justice Mr. William O'Dea, answered questions on a number of matters of interest to members of the profession, ! which are reported below. Solicitor Judges of Circuit and High Courts The Minister for Justice, Ms. Geoghegan-Quinn, stated that she was | sympathetic to the appointment of solicitors as judges of the Circuit Court and the High Court. She noted that the Law Society had recently sent a submis- sion to her Department in relation to the ; appointment of solicitors to the courts and that she had taken that into j consideration. ! The Minister also stated that relevant legislation does not provide for any outside agency to assess candidates for j appointment to the Bench, and she had no proposals at present for the intro- | duction of amending legislation which | would provide for such assessment. The j system of recruitment to the Judiciary ! was based on the idea of bringing in | people who were experienced and ! trained practitioners. Although the emphasis was on the need to select j people who have the necessary legal qualifications, the Minister stated that the Government naturally took account of the suitability generally of the indiv- iduals recommended for appointment. No Government would advise the

Video surveillance in operation in the greater Dublin area has certainly proved very effective according to the Minister I for Justice. Camera equipment is specifi- cally in operation in certain parts of Dublin for the identification of prospect- ive criminals. The operation of video surveillance has been very helpful to the Garda Síochána from time to time. | The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence) Act, 1990, which came into | operation on 5 June, 1992 has enabled the Garda Síochána, subject to certain conditions, to obtain bodily samples j from persons suspected of certain types of serious offences for the purpose of forensic testing, including DNA ! | profiling, according to the Minister for Justice. Two molecular biologists have been recruited and trained in the specific | techniques of DNA profiling for criminal work, as well as having been j ! trained as forensic scientists. A certain ! amount of preparatory work must be completed before the techniques are put into operation. j | A major computer training programme for courts personnel is just concluding, according to the Minister for State at the j Department of Justice, Mr. O'Dea. He stated that considerable progress has ! been made in the computerisation of the work of the District, Circuit and High Courts. Í A case tracking system has been introduced for the Circuit Court Office, and has been installed in three offices to date, and is under evaluation in others, j j j Computerisation in Courts j A family law accounts package has j been made available to the Dublin ! | Metropolitan District Court Family Law j Office, and an automatic office system to provide post-court documents, such as fines, notices and warrants, is being introduced in Dundalk, Galway, DNA Testing

President to appoint somebody who was manifestly unsuitable for judicial office.

Some who are recommended for appointment subsequently make

controversial decisions, but the Minister stated there was no guarantee that this would be avoided, simply by changing the selection method. In the context of the Minister's reply