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THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION OF THE
HIGH COURT
This subject has been taken as the matter for
the Sixth Interim Report of the Committee on
Court Practice and Procedure which is now avail
able from the Government Publications Sale Office,
G.P.O, Arcade, Dublin 1, or through any book
seller price 1/6. Amongst the proposals and re
commendations are
the abolition of
the
term
Central Criminal Court on
the basis
that the
High Court whether exercising its civil or criminal
jurisdiction should be known simply as "The High
Court". The Committee further considered that
a dock
is not an essential part of courtroom
equipment for a criminal trial.
In regard to the transfer of criminal trials in
indictment the Committee recommend :
(1) that the present position under Section 26
of
the Courts
(Supplemental Provisions) Act,
1961, as to transfer from one venue to another
in the same circuit should continue;
(2) that otherwise transfers from venues out
side Dublin should be
to
the Dublin Circuit
Court, save in cases dealt with in recommenda
tion (5);
(3) that
the
transfer of
trials
to
the High
Court be restricted to cases originally returned for
trial in the Dublin Circuit Court save in cases
dealt with in recommendation (5);
(4) that the present position under Section 6 of
the Courts Act, 1964, as to giving seven days
notice of the making of an application for a trans
fer should be extended to cover all applications
for transfers under head (1), (2) and (3) above;
(5) that the trial judge,
in a Circuit Court
venue other than Dublin, should have a discre
tionary power to order a transfer to the High
Court in the event of certain matters being raised
at the trial in the form of a plea in bar or in
some other preliminary point or even during the
trial itself.
APPEALS FROM CONVICTION ON
INDICTMENT
The Seventh Interim Report of the Committee
on Court Practice and Procedure has been pub
lished by
the Government Publications
Sale
Office, and is available from that office at the
G.P.O. Arcade, Dublin 1, or through any book
seller, price 1/6. The recommendations of the
Committee are as follows :
(1) that the functions of the Court of Criminal
Appeal be transferred to the Supreme Court and
that the Court of Criminal Appeal be abolished;
(2) that the Supreme Court be the only court
of appeal from convictions on indictment;
(3) that on the determination of a criminal
appeal each member of the Supreme Court be
free to give a separate opinion except on sentence
on which one opinion only should be pronounced;
(4) that every convicted person should have
the right to appeal without the preliminary re
quirement of obtaining a certificate from the trial
judge for leave to appeal to the court of appeal
and that the present distinction between an appli
cation for
leave
to appeal and an appeal be
abolished;
(5) that the present period of seven days for
lodging a notice of appeal be enlarged to twenty-
one days to conform with appeals in civil actions;
(6) that the present provision for having inter-
locutary matters heard by a single judge be con
tinued and (in the event of the Court of Criminal
Appeal being abolished) be applied in the Sup
reme Court;
(7) that (in
the event of
the above recom
mendations numbered (1)
to
(4) not being ad
opted) Section 32 of the Courts of Justice Act,
1924, be amended so as to confer jurisdiction on
the Court of Criminal Appeal to admit an appli
cant to bail pending the determination of an
application for leave to appeal;
(8) that
in criminal
trials on
indictment a
mechanical or electronic recording (in addition
to the shorthand note) be made of the judge's
charge to the jury and that such recording be
furnished to the appeal court, and that provision
be made by statute or by rules of court that the
trial judge be at liberty to furnish a separate
report on what he considers to be errors in the
transcript prepared by the official stenographer
and that the appeal court be enabled to receive
and use such report or a report from any other
source.
The recommendations are those of the members
of the Committee save for a reservation by Mr.
E. C. Micks which is annexed to the report. The
views of the Society were sought in the matter
and are acknowledged as having been
in the
report. The case of the People v. O'Connell (1963)
I.R. Ill was considered by the Committee as an
example of the multiplicity of appeals and the
case of the Attorney General v. Cashell (1928)
62 I.L.T.R. 31 was considered under the heading
of the jurisdiction of the Court to grant bail
under Section 32 of the Court of Justice Act,
1924.
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