The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1991

V i ewp o i nt

Courts Dispute - A Failure to

Protect the Public's Rights

have said before t hat there is an

urgent need for a comp r ehens i ve

exami na t i on of many features of

our courts service. The Law Society

has f r equen t ly adverted to t he

inordinate delays in t he Circuit

Court in some areas of t he c o u n t ry

and in t he High Cou rt in general.

Our cou rt procedures, and es-

pecially those relating to the way in

w h i c h cases are initiated and

presented in cou r t, are in some

impo r t ant respects o u t mo d ed and

are n ow c on t r i bu t i ng to delays and

adding to cost. The listing system in

the High Court, to give but one

example, is in need of overhaul. Our

courthouse accommodation in some

areas is very poor. In a number o f

areas, it is nothing short of a dis-

grace. Once again, the budget

allocated for the courts service has

been cut as a result of public ex-

penditure cut-backs w i th the result

that many important refurbishment

projects will not n ow go ahead this

year nor, as far as we can see, next

year either. The fact is that the

service itself has been a 'Cinderella'

for many years and, because t he

staff lack t he musc le of t he police

and prison officers, t he problem is

not ge t t i ng t he a t t en t i on it de-

serves. Moreover, it seems to us

t ha t, wha t ever t he merits of t he

c l a im by t he Civil and Public

Service Union, there mu st be a

serious question about a s y s t em of

administration in w h i ch there can

be as many as four or five different

grades pe r f o rmi ng wo rk t hat in

mo st non-civil service organisa-

tions wo u ld be done by a single

clerical grade.

A more impo r t ant question, how-

ever, is t he way in wh i ch the courts

service itself is s t r uc t u r ed and

managed. It is not an exaggeration

t o say t hat there is n o t a cou r ts

service, as such. It is a disjointed

ama l gam of d i f f e r ent civil service

o f f i ces covering t he four levels of

our cou r ts w i t h a multiplicity of

grades and w i t h no clear overall,

unified management structure. It is

totally lacking in cohesiveness. It is

t i me t hat this ma t t er was add-

ressed. The Law Society has, in the

past, called for t he establishment

of a new courts service to be

headed by a chief executive and

w i t h a co-ordinated management

structure wh i ch will be given the

resources, both in terms of finance

and manpower, to develop the ad-

ministration of the courts. We be-

lieve t hat the case for this has been

made and t hat it is n ow time for a

response f r om the Minister.

•

TO LET

(By Assignment)

14 UPR. O R M O ND QUAY,

DUBL IN 7

Prominent Office Building

* Close to Four Courts

* Designated Area Status

* Lease 35 years from 1982

* Rent £17,000 p.a.

* Next Review Jan. 1995

* 3,295 sq. ft.

Details From:

r DONAL

O ' B U A C H A L L A

LTD

sr, Ml KRION SL>1 AKL. Dl lil IN J

^ 1 1 1 1 I'ilOM

Vr.JV

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