The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ireland This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. It may be ineligible for copyright or in the public domain. In other cases, it is believed that these images may be exhibited on Wikipedia under the... This article is part of the series The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign, independent state. It is a representative democracy under a parliamentary system of government, with a president, prime minister and parliament. The capital city is Dublin. While there are a number of important political parties in the state, the two largest are Fianna F... Politics of the R. of Ireland

The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people, and serves a maximum of two seven-year terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise... President The Council of State (Irish: Comhairle Stáit) is an organ established by the Constitution of Ireland to advise the President of Ireland in the exercise of many of her discretionary, reserve powers. The Council of State also has authority to provide for the temporary exercise of the duties of... Council of State

This article is about the modern legislature. For alternative meanings, see: Oireachtas (disambiguation) The Oireachtas (Irish for Legislature) is the National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. The Oireachtas consists of the President of Ireland and two houses: Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann (also known as the Senate). However... Oireachtas Dáil Éireann is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland1. It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. Its powers are similar to those of lower... Dáil Éireann Seanad Éireann (English: Senate of Ireland), the Irish Senate, is the upper house of the Oireachtas: the parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. Unlike the lower house, Dáil Éireann, the Senate is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by various methods... Seanad Éireann

The Taoiseach (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet1. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), and must, while he or... Taoiseach The Tánaiste (plural: Tánaistithe), or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland1. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of the Taoiseach ( prime minister). The word was historically an Irish... Tánaiste The Government (Irish: Rialtas) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach, and a deputy prime minister called the Tánaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President after being designated by Dáil Éireann... Government

The Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Supreme Court is the Court of Final Appeal and exercises judicial review, to ensure that other institutions of the state comply with the Constitution of Ireland. The Supreme Court consists of its... Supreme Court High Court The courts system in the Republic of Ireland consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court and a number of lower courts. The Republic is a common law jurisdiction and trials for serious offences must usually occur before a jury. The High Court and the Supreme Court have authority, by... Judiciary

The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy, and guarantees certain fundamental rights. The constitution was adopted in... Constitution An amendment may be made to any part of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Republic of Ireland, but only by referendum. An amendment must first be approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum, and finally signed into law by the... Referendum

Political parties in the Republic of Ireland lists political parties in the Republic of Ireland. The general rule on naming applies. That means: the parties are named in the English translation and the original native name is placed on the first line of the article unless the native form is... Political parties Elections in the Republic of Ireland gives information on election and election results in the Republic of Ireland. An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to an office. It is the mechanism by which a democracy fills elective offices in the legislature, and... Elections: - The date for Irelands presidential election was set for 22 October 2004. However, nominations closed at noon on 1 October and the incumbent president, Mary McAleese, who had nominated herself in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, was the only person nominated. Accordingly she was re-elected for... Presidential, 2004 - The 28th Dáil was dissolved by President McAleese on Thursday April 25, 2002 and a General Election announced for Friday May 17, 2002. The 29th Dáil assembled on June 6, 2002. Results Overview The general election was significant for six major reasons: The re-election of the Fianna... Legislative, 2002

The High Court of the The Republic of Ireland ( Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is the official description of an independent state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north-west Europe. It is the westernmost state of the European Union, and has a developed economy and... Republic of Ireland is a This article is about courts of law. For alternative meanings see: Court (disambiguation). A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. Types Of Courts Some courts may function... court which deals at The Court of First Instance is a court of the European Union. It hears employment disputes brought by employees of the EU, and other matters (such as disputes brought by those refused a trade mark by OHIM, the EU Trade Mark and designs registry). Appeals are sent to the European... first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases, and also acts as a An appellate court is a court that hears cases in which a lower court -- either a trial court or a lower-level appellate court — has already made some decision, which at least one party to the action wants to challenge based upon some legal grounds that are allowed to... court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit courts previously were United States federal courts established in each federal judicial district. The old United States circuit courts exercised both original and appellate jurisdiction. They existed from 1789 to 1912. The original jurisdiction formerly exercised by the United States circuit courts is now exercised by the United States... Circuit Court. It also has the power to determine whether a law is constitutional or not, and of Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent; for example, although the basis is different in different countries, as unconstitutional or violating of basic principles of justice. In many jurisdictions, the court has the power to... judicial review over acts of the The Government (Irish: Rialtas) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach, and a deputy prime minister called the Tánaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President after being designated by Dáil Éireann... government.

Structure

The High Court is established by Article 34 of the The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy, and guarantees certain fundamental rights. The constitution was adopted in... Constitution of Ireland, which grants it "full original jurisdiction in and power to determine all matters and questions whether of law or fact, civil or criminal", as well as the ability to determine "the validity of any law having regard to the provisions of this Constitution". A judge or justice is an appointed or elected official who presides over a court. The powers, functions, and training of judges varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A judge can also be simply a qualified person who evaluates and passes judgement on anything; for example, a judge at a... Judges are appointed by the The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people, and serves a maximum of two seven-year terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise... President. However, as with almost all the President's constitutional powers, these appointments are made under "the advice of the The Government (Irish: Rialtas) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach, and a deputy prime minister called the Tánaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President after being designated by Dáil Éireann... Government". In practice, this means that the judges are nominated by the government and automatically approved by the President.

There can be at most 32 ordinary High Court judges, however the president of the Circuit courts previously were United States federal courts established in each federal judicial district. The old United States circuit courts exercised both original and appellate jurisdiction. They existed from 1789 to 1912. The original jurisdiction formerly exercised by the United States circuit courts is now exercised by the United States... Circuit Court and the Chief Justice of the The Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Supreme Court is the Court of Final Appeal and exercises judicial review, to ensure that other institutions of the state comply with the Constitution of Ireland. The Supreme Court consists of its... Supreme Court are This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as i.e.. Some of these are themselves translations from Greek. For a list of more formal proverbs, see: List of Latin proverbs. Note that the difference between phrases and proverbs is often subjective. Please use this test... ex officio judges of the High Court. Cases are normally heard by one judge, but the President of the High Court may order that a particular case be heard by three judges sitting together — a so-called divisional court.

The court normally hears cases in the The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Irelands main courts building. It is the location of the Irish Supreme Court, High Court and Central Criminal Court. The Four Courts was built between 1796 and 1802 by renowned architect James Gandon, who built The Custom House. The building... Four Courts building in Dublins Hapenny Bridge. Beyond it, the dome of the 18th century Custom House and Liberty Hall, the citys tallest building. Dublin (Baile Átha Cliath in Irish) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast... Dublin, although it also has regular sittings outside the capital.

2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. It has been designated: The World Year Of Physics 2005 The International Year of Microcredit The International Year for Sport and Physical Education Events January Worldwide aid effort continues to develop in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean... As of 2005, Justice Joseph Finnegan was President of the High Court.

Criminal cases

The High Court is known as the Central Criminal Court when it is hearing a criminal case. The Central Criminal Court has original jurisdiction for the following criminal offences:

• In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. A person who reneges on an oath of loyalty or a pledge of allegiance, and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor. Orans Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason... treason (as well as aiding or concealing treason)
• Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. It may be legal to kill, but still murder in the moral sense. Opponents of the death penalty argue that it is simply murder by the state. Opponents of abortion argue that it is legalized murder... murder (as well as Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. It may be legal to kill, but still murder in the moral sense. Opponents of the death penalty argue that it is simply murder by the state. Opponents of abortion argue that it is legalized murder... attempted murder and Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. As a legal term, conspiracy has historically been defined, in America, as an agreement of two or more people to commit a crime, or to... conspiracy to murder)
• This article is about sea pirates. For other uses see Pirate (disambiguation) A pirate is one who robs or plunders at sea without a commission from a recognised sovereign nation. Pirates usually target other ships, but have also attacked targets on shore. These acts are known as piracy. Unlike the... piracy
• Genocide has been defined as the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, or (sometimes) politics, as well as other deliberate actions leading to the physical elimination of any of the above categories. There is disagreement over whether the term genocide ought to be used for... genocide (illegal in Ireland under the Genocide Act 1973 (http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA28Y1973.html))
• For the domesticated crop plant called rape, see rapeseed. For responding to rape as a medical emergency, see sexual assault. For the former administrative division of Sussex, see Rape (district). Rape is a crime wherein the victim is forced into sexual activity against his or her will. Effectively, it co... rape and other serious sexual offences

All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in front of a This article is confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. Please remove this notice once this has been done. A jury is a body of persons convened to render a verdict (finding of fact) on a legal question officially submitted to them, or to set a... jury of twelve. The defendant can be convicted on a majority verdict of ten jurors. Appeals from the Central Criminal Court can be made to the Court of Criminal Appeal, and the sentence can be appealed as well as the verdict.

Civil cases

The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil cases where more than Euro (disambiguation). The euro (€; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve of the twenty-five European Union member states. These twelve states, which form the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), are: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It is... €38,092.14 is involved. It also has power of Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent; for example, although the basis is different in different countries, as unconstitutional or violating of basic principles of justice. In many jurisdictions, the court has the power to... judicial review over the acts of the government, including the decisions of all inferior courts, and decisions made by tribunals of inquiry.

Non-criminal judgements of the High Court may be appealed to the The Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Supreme Court is the Court of Final Appeal and exercises judicial review, to ensure that other institutions of the state comply with the Constitution of Ireland. The Supreme Court consists of its... Supreme Court.

See also

• The courts system in the Republic of Ireland consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court and a number of lower courts. The Republic is a common law jurisdiction and trials for serious offences must usually occur before a jury. The High Court and the Supreme Court have authority, by... Courts of the Republic of Ireland

External links

• High Court (http://www.oasis.gov.ie/justice/courts/high_court.html) — from the The Government (Irish: Rialtas) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in the Republic of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach, and a deputy prime minister called the Tánaiste. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President after being designated by Dáil Éireann... Irish government information website
• High Court (http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/6556fea313d95d5d80256a990052c571/a02c9a68910cae7280256d870050500c?OpenDocument) — from the Courts Service website