The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

P R

E S I D E N T ' S

M E S S A G E

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1994

The Need for Re f orm of t he

Cour ts Serv i ce

At a time of political change, it is

appropriate to consider on-going

issues of concern to the profession and

I the public which might usefully be

addressed in any agreed Programme

for Government. One such issue is the

| administration of the courts service.

Over many years, the Society has

consistently voiced its concern about

the serious problems that exist in the

administration of the courts service

throughout the country. It has

highlighted these issues publicly in the

hope that the Government of the day

would take the necessary action to

have the shortcomings redressed.

In September 1993, the Society joined

forces with the Bar Council and a joint

submission was made to the Minister

for Justice identifying the

shortcomings in the existing service in

terms of delay, accommodation and

facilities, family law cases,

information technology, the pleadings

system, pre-trial procedures and the

listing system. The submission

outlined the need for additional

resources and argued strongly for the

establishment of an Executive Agency,

under the control of a Chief Executive,

to manage the courts service.

Recently, the Government announced

its intention to bring forward

i legislation to deal primarily with

criticisms about the method of

appointment of judges. This took the

form of the Courts and Court Officers

Bill, 1994, which was produced with

considerable haste. The Society has

serious concerns about some

provisions of the Bill and a submission

has been forwarded to the Minister for

Justice. On the particular issue of the

administration of the courts, Section

29 of the Bill states that the Minister

may

establish a Courts Commission to

advise the Government and the

Minister for Justice on "the

organisation and management of the

courts and courts service and on such

matters as in the opinion of the

Minister or the Commission has a

bearing on the capacity of the courts to

discharge their functions".

Speaking in the Dail on 2 November,

the Minister for Justice, Maire

Geoghegan-Quinn, indicated that the

question of establishing a permanent

independent courts service (i.e. an

Executive Agency) operating outside

the aegis of the Department of Justice

would be one issue which the

Commission (if established) should

j address but that, in so doing, the

Commission would have to have

regard to whether such a change would

i best serve all users of the courts

"effectively, efficiently and

inexpensively".

I While Section 29 is a welcome

I response by the Government to the

concerns expressed by the Society and

the Bar Council in their joint

submission of September 1993, the

Society believes that the establishment

of the proposed Courts Commission

should be mandatory. Furthermore,

while it is clearly in everyone's

interests that the services provided by

the courts should be as inexpensive as

possible, any meaningful Executive

Agency would have to have the

authority to identify capital projects

requiring the immediate allocation of

substantial resources, with a

commitment from the Government to

provide same.

Recent political developments may

impact on the progress and content of

the Courts and Court Officers Bill,

1994, and it is hoped that the

preliminary welcome steps taken by

the previous administration will not be

lost. It is heartening that the leader of

the Labour Party, Dick Spring, has

identified the establishment of a

permanent and independent

commission to manage the courts as an

element of his "Strategy for Renewal".

The Law Society will continue to

campaign for a unified courts service,

with an integrated and coherent

management structure in the form of

an Executive Agency.

Patrick A. Glynn

•

Doyle Court Repor ters

Principal:

Á i ne O ' Fa r r e ll

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