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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1991
JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT
COURT
The Courts (No. 2) Bill 1991
was
passed by the Dáil on July 3 1991
and on July 9, 1991 by the Seanad.
This legislation,
inter alia,
extends
the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court
from £15,000 to £30,000 and the
jurisdiction of the District Court
from £2,500 to £5,000.
The legislation also provides,
inter alia,
for a change in the mode
or style of address of judges of the
District Court. The mode or style of
address will change from "Justice"
to "Judge." The Minister for
Justice, Mr. Burke, stated in the Dáil
on July 3, 1991 that although
under the Constitution, District
justices were judges, they had been
styled as justices since the
foundation of the state. The
existing statutory provisions (con-
tained in section 5 (2) of the
Courts
Establishment and Constitutional
Act, 1961)
provided that each judge
of the District Court shall be styled
"Justice of the District Court." The
Minister stated that there had been
recommendations previously to
change the style of address of a
judge of the District Court including
one by the Committee on Court
Practice and Procedure and the
opportunity was taken in the Bill to
make the change.
The Minister stated that the
change in the style of address in
judges in the District Court will
come into effect three months after
the date of passing of the Bill. This
will allow for the passing of other
Bills before the Oireachtas which
contained references to justices of
the District Court, without having
to amend them. As and from the
commencement date, all reference
to justices contained in any
statutory or statutory instrument in
operation on that date would be
construed as a reference to a judge
of the District Court by virtue of
section 21 of the legislation.
The Minister for Justice, Mr.
Burke, thanked deputies in the Dáil
for the welcome they had given to
the amendment which proposed
that in future justices of the District
Court would be known as judges of
the District Court. The Minister
stated that the change was more
than symbolic as 90% of the
people who contact with the courts
of the land did so at District Court
level. It was important that the men
and women who sit on the bench
of the District Court should be
addressed as "judge" which is
what they were and what the
public perceive them to be. The
Minister was glad to have the
opportunity to remove the title
"justice" - a relic of olden days -
from the statute book.
BARRISTERS MAKE CHANGES
About 500 of the country's
barristers at the largest ever
meeting of the Bar of Ireland held
in the Law Library in the Four
Courts, Dublin, on June 22, 1991
voted for competition in the
provision of the services of the Bar
when they decided to remove from
their rules any rules fixing the
number of counsel to be briefed in
a case and as to the relationship of
their fees. As a result, these will all
be matters for agreement between
the barrister and the client, through
the solicitor. These changes will
become effective with the passing
into law of the
Courts (No. 2) Bill,
1991,
which will increase the
jurisdiction of the Circuit Court to
£30,000.
The Chairman of the Bar Council,
Nial Fennelly SC, made the
following comments.
"[The] meeting resulted from a
very extensive review of the
structure of the Bar and pro-
fessional practice. It included
consideration of the Report of
the Fair Trade Commission pub-
lished last year. Detailed discuss-
ions have taken place with the
Minister for Justice concerning
changes which he requested in
the interests of the public.
Following the changes which
have been agreed, the Bar is
confident that it cannot be
accused of maintaining restrict-
ive practices regarding the pro-
vision of its services. Its role is
to provide, by means of the
independent practitioner, legal
representation and legal advice
efficiently and at a reasonable
cost to the public through the
solicitors' profession throughout
the country. It will be a vigorous
independent self-regulating
profession and can face the
future with confidence.
The barristers also adopted a
new disciplinary code for the Bar.
The Federation of Irish Employers
and the Irish Congress of Trade
Unions have agreed to nominate
the lay representatives to the new
Barrister's Professional Conduct
Tribunal.
TRADE DISPUTE LAW
The Minister for Labour, Mr. Bertie
Ahern, reviewed aspects of trade
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