The Gazette 1981

GAZETTE

APRIL 1981

COLLAPSE OF THE

LIST

The problems of efficient planning and co-ordination of

the list of jury actions has been raised again, at a recent

meeting between the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association

and the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice Finlay.

The President and Mr. Justice Hamilton are both very

concerned that the management of the list is becoming

more and more difficult and more and more frustrating to

the practitioner, the judiciary and, last and by no means

least, to the witness.

For some time, a practice rule was followed (and

reasonably well observed) that if a solicitor realised that a

case already listed was not, in fact, ready to go to

hearing, an application should be made to the Court on

the Thursday prior to the week in which the case was

listed, to have the case taken out of the list and re-entered

at some later date.

Regrettably, the rule is now being honoured more in its

breach than its observance, with the result that lists are

collapsing; on a recent Tuesday, only one jury action

went to hearing, all the others having either been settled

or not ready for hearing.

The President has considered the possible remedy of

listing more cases for each day, but appreciates that this

must inevitably result in a number of listed cases not

being reached on the day of listing. This would entail

solicitors and their clients and witnesses hanging about

the Four Courts, perhaps for days, waiting for their case

to be heard.

Quite apart from the waste of increasingly expensive

professional time, our clients and their witnesses deserve

more courteous treatment and the image of the legal

system can only suffer increasing damage from such

apparently haphazard administration. For the time being,

in the hope that improvement may be generated from

within the profession, the Dublin Solicitors' Bar

Association is merely passing on the President's urgent

plea that as soon as solicitors become aware that a listed

case will not be ready to be heard on the day fixed, they

apply at once to have the case withdrawn from the list;

this will enable another case to be listed and avoid the all-

too-frequent collapses of the list at present taking place.

PUBLIC DANCE

LICENCES

The Senior Administrative Officer of the Community-

Environment Section of Dublin County Council has

suggested that practitioners be informed that notices of

application for public dance licences in respect of

premises in the administrative area of Dublin County

Council should be forwarded to Mr. D. O'Sullivan,

Principal Officer, Development-Environment Depart-

ment, Dublin County Council, 46/49 Upper O'Connell

Street, Dublin 1.

It is pointed out that in accordance with the Public

Dance Halls Act, 1935, the Local Authority must be

given at least one month's notice in writing of the appli-

cation for the granting of a public dancing licence. This is

a mandatory provision.

HIGH COURT

SUMMONS — SIX

DAY COSTS

The Superior Courts Rules Committee has made

orders amending the costs payable in debt and liquidated

claim cases either settled within six days after service of

the summons or where judgment is obtained in default of

appearance. The new rules (S.I. No. 32 of 1981) are:

. Order 4, Rule 5 (2) shall be deleted and the following

substituted therefor:

The amount claimed for costs shall be:

(a) If the demand does not Such sum as would be

exceed £250:

appropriate to a proceed-

ing for a like amount in the

;

District Court.

(b) If the demand exceeds Such sum as would be

£250 but does not appropriate to a proceed-

exceed £2,000:

ing for a like amount in the

Circuit Court.

£2,000:

each additional

service

after the first, and the costs

of any order for issue and

service, or service of the

summons or notice in lieu

thereof out of the jurisdic-

tion, or for substituted or

other service or for the

substitution of notice for

service, or for declaring

service effected sufficient,

or for notice by advertise-

ment of the issue of the

summons, and this amount

shall be exclusive of and in

addition to all actual and

necessary outlay.

Appendix W, Part III, shall be deleted and the following

substituted therefor:

(1) District Court Jurisdiction

If the amount of the Such sum as would be

judgment does not appropriate to a judgment

exceed £250:

in the District Court for a

like amount.

(2) Circuit Court Jurisdiction

If the amount of the Such sum as would be

judgment

exceeds appropriate to a judgment

£250 but does not for a like amount in the

exceed £2,000:

Circuit Court.

(3) High Court Jurisdiction

If the amount of the £18.10 and £1.50 for each

judgment

exceeds additional service after the

£2,000:

first;

and this amount shall

in every case be exclusive

of and in addition to all

actual

and

necessary

outlay.