The Circuit Court ( ga, An Chúirt Chuarda) of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictment with a judge and jury, except for certain serious crimes which are tried in either the Central Criminal Court or the

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ga, Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to ...

. On the civil side the Circuit Court has a considerable parallel jurisdiction — including equitable remedies — with the High Court but normally cannot award damages of more than €75,000. The Circuit Court also hears '' de novo'' appeals from the District Court in both civil and criminal matters. The Circuit Court consists of a President and thirty-seven ordinary judges and six specialist judges. It is composed of eight circuits, each of which cover an ''ad hoc'' region of the state. One judge is assigned to each circuit except in Dublin where ten judges may be assigned, and Cork, where there is provision for three judges. The President of the District Court is an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' member of the Circuit Court.

History

It was first established as the ''Circuit Court of Justice'' under the

Courts of Justice Act 1924 The Courts of Justice Act 1924 ( ga, Acht Cúirteanna Breithiúnais, 1924) was an Act of the Oireachtas (No. 10 of 1924) that established a new system of courts for the Irish Free State (now Ireland or the Republic of Ireland). Among the new co ...

and replaced the County Court on the civil side, and

quarter session The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

s and recorder's courts on the criminal side, as well as some of the jurisdiction of the

assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

Jurisdiction

The Irish constitution permits the creation of courts of "local and limited jurisdiction". The local nature of the Circuit Court exists in the manner in which each circuit of the court only has jurisdiction to consider matters arising within its assigned county or counties. And the limited nature occurs in the manner in which it can only adjudicate over matters which are expressly indicated to be within its jurisdiction by statute. This having been said a considerable number of powers are conferred on the Circuit Court by statute, which as a result frequently has parallel jurisdiction with the High Court. Probably the most significant difference between the Circuit Court and the High Court is that the Circuit Court has no jurisdiction to question the constitutionality of any statute or even to hear arguments to that effect, a matter which the Irish Constitution reserves solely to the High Court, the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Civil

The civil jurisdiction of the Circuit Court is limited to a compensation claim not exceeding €75,000 (€60,000 if a claim for damages for personal injuries) and for actions involving real property with a market value of less than €3 million, although the parties in a legal action can agree to lifting these limits by agreeing to unlimited jurisdiction.

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

and

judicial separation Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...

, and contentious probate cases can also be heard provided that the value of any real property in a settlement is within the jurisdiction of the court. Unlike the District Court and in common with the High Court, the Circuit Court has

equitable jurisdiction Equity is a particular body of law that was developed in the English Court of Chancery. Its general purpose is to provide a remedy for situations where the law is not flexible enough for the usual court system to deliver a fair resolution to a cas ...

in relation to claims involving land, but matters in which injunctions and declarations are sought not involving land must be brought in the High Court. Civil matters heard in the Circuit Court can be appealed to the High Court.

Criminal

The court tries all indictable offences (i.e. those triable by a judge and jury) with the exception of certain offences (murder, aggravated murder, treason, rape, piracy and genocide) that are reserved for the Central Criminal Court. Terrorist offences and offences with an

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

element can be heard by the non-jury

. Decisions of the Circuit Court in criminal matters can be appealed to the

Family law

Under the Family Law Act 1995, the Circuit Court, under the name Circuit Family Court, shares with the High Court original jurisdiction for

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

cases. The

rules of court Procedural law, adjective law, in some jurisdictions referred to as remedial law, or rules of court, comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil, lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are d ...

for such cases are different, and reporting of them is more restricted.

Appellate

The court hears ''de novo'' appeals from the District Court. When hearing appeals Circuit Court judges have the same powers as a District Court judge and so cannot give higher sentences or award more damages than a District Court judge could do. The Circuit Court further can hear appeals from various statutory bodies including the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Appeal Commissioners of Income Tax and the Mental Health Tribunal. The Circuit Court when hearing such an appeal can make any order the statutory tribunal could have made at first instance.

President of Circuit Court

The office of the President of the Circuit Court was established under the Courts of Justice Act 1947. The current president is Patricia Ryan.

Circuits

References

External links

Circuit Court
– Courts Service of Ireland

– Citizens' Information Board {{Judiciary of the Republic of Ireland, state=collapsed Courts of the Republic of Ireland Courts and tribunals established in 1924 1924 establishments in Ireland