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GAZETTE
PR E S I D E N T 'S
M E S S A G E
OCTOBER 1993
The Government Must Act
on the Courts Service
l At the joint Law Society/Bar Council press conference to publicise details of the submission
were l-R: Frank Clarke, SC, Chairman of the Bar Council and Raymond Monahan, President
of the Law Society.
At every available opportunity
throughout my year as President I
have highlighted my own concern and
the concern of members of the
profession throughout the country
about the current state of our courts
service. The culmination of our efforts
in this regard was a very detailed
submission which the Society,
supported by the Bar Council,
forwarded to the Minister for Justice
on 21 September last, setting out our
views about the future management of
the courts service and what needs to
be done to ensure that Ireland has a
modern, efficient service which
ensures that people have proper access
to justice and can vindicate their
rights and pursue their just
entitlements. A day later, the Law
Society and the Bar Council held a
joint press conference to publicise the
contents of the submission.
I was particularly pleased at the joint
approach by ourselves and the Bar
Council. As practising lawyers we
often have the unhappy task of trying
to explain the shortcomings of the
current system to clients who are
justifiably bewildered by the delay
and antiquated procedures they
encounter, and indeed, who are not
above laying the blame for these
matters at the door of their solicitor or
counsel. It was a valuable opportunity
to express concern for our clients'
interests and also our own desire to
see a better service in place. I hope it
will be the first of many joint
initiatives by the two practising
professions on issues of mutual
concern, whereby by co-operating we
can add weight to our efforts
At our press conference I said that
acute underfunding of the service for
many years and poor management of
the courts at central level in
Government had led to a situation
which had now reached crisis point.
There is little doubt that the
I inefficiency of the service is
contributing greatly to the high cost of
litigation in this country and is,
therefore, imposing a substantial
burden on the commercial life of the
country. The present state of affairs is
completely unsatisfactory and requires
urgent action.
Citizens are entitled to look to the
courts for the vindication of their
rights and they must have access to a
system of justice that is efficient,
speedy and cost-effective. Delay in
hearing a civil case is now of the
order of two and a half to three years
in the High Court and in the principal
Circuit Court areas. This is proof that
the courts system is not serving the
needs of the public.
Our joint submission described the
principal shortcomings of the existing
service, examined delays in the courts
and documented the appalling
conditions and lack of facilities in
many courthouses around the country
especially facilities for the hearing of
family law cases. It urged examination
of the setting up of a special family
law court, the need for reform of the
| pleadings system and pre-trial
procedures and a more efficient listing
I system, the need for more resources
for the courts, including an end to
embargos on the filling of staff
vacancies, the appointment of extra
judges, spending on information
technology, and recommended a new
management structure - an executive
agency - first suggested in the Devlin
Report almost 25 years ago.
i The submission now rests with the
Minister of Justice and we await her
response with interest. So far the only
indication of a response from
Government was a media report which
indicated that the Minister of State at
the Department of Justice,
William
O'Dea TD,
had "dismissed" the idea
of an executive agency because he felt
it would interfere with the
independence of the judiciary and
could also be unconstitutional. This is
a disappointing response, and we
hope that the Minister of State will
examine the idea in greater depth. In
'
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THE LAW
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