The High Court (Irish: An Ard-Chúirt) of the Republic of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases, and also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. It also has the power to determine whether a law is constitutional or not, and of judicial review over acts of the government. A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... The Court of First Instance, created in 1988, is a court of the European Union. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Appeal. ... The courts system in the Republic of Ireland consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court and a number of lower courts. ... Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ...

Structure

The High Court is established by Article 34 of the 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". Judges are appointed by the President. However, as with almost all the President's constitutional powers, these appointments are made under "the advice of the Government". In practice, this means that the judges are nominated by the government and automatically approved by the President. The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... In constitutional law, Advice is formal, usually binding instruction given by a constitutional officer of state to another. ...

There can be at most 32 ordinary High Court judges, however the president of the Circuit Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are 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 Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. ... This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as . ...

The court normally hears cases in the Four Courts building in Dublin, although it also has regular sittings outside the capital. The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Irelands main courts building. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. ...

As of 2005, Justice Joseph Finnegan was President of the High Court. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Criminal cases

The High Court is known as the Central Criminal Court (Irish: An Phríomh-Chúirt Choiriúil) when it is hearing a criminal case. The Central Criminal Court has original jurisdiction for the following criminal offences:

• treason (as well as aiding or concealing treason)
• murder (as well as attempted murder and conspiracy to murder)
• piracy
• genocide (illegal in Ireland under the Genocide Act 1973)
• rape and other serious sexual offences

All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in front of 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. In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ... Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. ... As a legal term, a conspiracy is an agreement of two or more people to commit a crime, or to accomplish a legal end through illegal actions. ... Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owners exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. ... Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing... This article may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to enhance clarity. ...

Civil cases

The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil cases where more than €38,092.14 is involved. It also has power of judicial review over the acts of the government, including the decisions of all inferior courts, and decisions made by tribunals of inquiry. The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ... Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ...

Non-criminal judgements of the High Court may be appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. ...

See also

• Courts of the Republic of Ireland

The courts system in the Republic of Ireland consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court and a number of lower courts. ...

External links

• High Court — from the Irish government information website
• High Court — from the Courts Service website