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interests of justice, or where a Judge wishes to
re
view the evidence before reaching a decision. This
'Vpe of happening is quite common in all Courts and is
uesirable. If Judges are changed from time to time, or
11
there is not one Judge assigned to a specific area for
a
reasonably long period, then a backlog of adjourned
^
a
ses can arise. All practitioners have had experience of
h e
position where, for some unavoidable reason a
J
Uc
%e or Justice is unable to attend a particular Court
his district. Where this position occurs over a period
two or three Courts, invariably one finds that a list
cases accumulates which are left in abeyance or
a
djourned, so that the Judge or Justice who has dealt
Wlt
h the particular matter previously may deal with
sar
ne on his return to duty.
DUBLIN AREA—GENERALLY
The general recommendations of the Committee in
e,
ation to the Dublin Courts are acceptable and sup-
Ported. The obvious and the immediate and extreme
P
r
pblem in the Dublin City area is the shortage of
^itable accommodation for the Circuit and District
°urts. The number of Judges and Justices presently
ijyailable in the Dublin Courts appear to be adequate.
uc real pressing problem is Court accommodation
a
nd this problem has now reached extreme proportions.
* present a Court sits in Church Hall in Lower Abbey
reet which is totally unsuited and inconvenient for
SUc
h use. The Children's Court at Dublin Castle has
u
udergone continuous criticism with particular refer-
ence to th" suitability of the accommodation available
P
a
rt>cuWly from the point of view of parents, children,
P
r
°bationary officers and other persons who must attend
a t
that Court. The Circuit Court has a similar problem
i
s
endeavouring to accommodate itself in premises
Bich are unsuited and overcrowded. It is believed that
, j
l t l o
nal Courthouse accommodation will be avail-
Jo in the near future as a matter of extreme urgency
.
n<
J it is felt that when sufficient suitable accommoda-
ls
available the present system will work efficiently
in^
C
'
Ct t 0
c h a n
?
e s
recommended by the Committee
, t s
Report. It is understood that a site has been
^ ^ h a s e d at the rere of the Four Courts where a block
j. Metropolitan Courts will be erected. The view of the
Ubi
ln
g
a r
Association supported by the Society is that
^rious consideration should be given to the utilisation
j accommodation in the vicinity of the Four Courts.
this respect it should be possible to utilise the buil-
j^
n
gs presently occupied by the Land Registry and the
^
e
cords Office for Courts and to find suitable alter-
^
a
tive accommodation for the Land Registry and the
e
£ r d s Office, perhaps in the new building complex,
th
reference
to the Committee's recommendations
R o w i n g specific matters should be considered in
view of the Dublin Bar Association, namely :
C ,
£ u i t Court—Civil and Criminal
j
t
.
ra
nsfer of business from Kildare and Wicklow:
,
ls
submitted that with the present overcrowding in
:
n e
Dubli n Courts that these Courts could not at
^
e
s e nt accommodate any further or additional work.
Part from this aspect of the matter and in accordance
h the general reasons given later in this memor-
j,
d
prn, it is the view of the Association and of the
,,°
Cl
ety that, even if this recommendation was practical,
e
n the inconvenience and additional expense that
*ould be incurred by accused persons, by witnesses and
the other parties involved in attending at a Dublin
Court rather than at a local venue, would impose an
unfair burden on the parties involved and would not
achieve any improvement in the existing system and
would not generally be in the public interest.
Arrears:
The remedy referred to in recommendation
115 of the Report did assist in clearing the heavy back-
log of cases in the Dublin Circuit Court. It is under-
stood, however, that while the Dublin Circuit list was
brought reasonably up to date, arrears accumulated in
some Circuits through the country by reason of the
transfer of the Judge of that Circuit into Dublin to deal
with arrears. This remedy does not appear to be the
correct method of approach, but it is now believed that
with sufficient Courthouse accommodation available in
Dublin, that there are presently sufficient Judges avail-
able to deal with all arrears and to keep the list up to
date. Cases should be disposed of with as little delay as
is possible, otherwise it merely causes adverse comment
and frustration as well as financial loss to litigants.
Listing of Cases:
The present system of listing cases
in the diary for the Circuit Court without fixing a day-
to-day list on a more certain and realistic basis has
caused much of the delay, frustration and wastage of
witnesses' time which has existed in the Dublin Circuit
Court. Very often cases listed in the diary are not
reached and this merely results in the loss of witnesses'
time, inconvenience to them and further additional
expenses by having witnesses attend Court on two or
tlvee occasionj when one attendance should be
adequate. I: is suggested that, as cases are listed in the
Circuits through the country by county registrars with
the co-operation of local practitioners, a similar system
could be adopted in the Dublin Circuit Court in rela-
tion to civil actions. The listing of cases could be left to
the county registrar in co-operation with the local
practitioners.
Closing of Offices during long Vacation:
The closing
of Court offices during the long vacation causes un-
necessary inconvenience and delay. It is suggested that
during the long vacation all of the Court offices should
remain open during the normal office hours. While the
Court may not be sitting, there is nonetheless quite a
volume of work passing through the offices in question
and it causes delay and inconvenience generally to close
the Court offices, as is the current practice. There
appears to be no justification for closing the Court
offices on a half-day basis and it is strongly recom-
mended that the offices in question be left open and
available to practitioners and to the public during the
normal working hours.
DISTRICT COURTS
Hours of Sittings:
The hours suggested in the Report
are acceptable. However, complaints have been received
from a number of practitioners in the Dublin area who
indicate that while the Courts are set to commence at
10.30 a.m. they are in fact often late in commencing
and suggest that this matter should be rectified.
Fixing of List for Hearing:
This practice in relation
to the hearing of civil claims has worked satisfactorily
and has been of very great convenience to litigants and
witnesses and it has been found that the system oper-
ates in a more efficient way by having cases listed for
hearing on specific dates. This practice should continue
as no defect has been found in this procedure and no
wastage of time is involved.
100