First Previous (PART 1 Preliminary and General ) Next (PART 3 Board and Committees of Council )

33 2019

JUDICIAL COUNCIL ACT 2019

PART 2

Judicial Council

Establishment day

5. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

Establishment of Council

6. (1) There shall stand established on the establishment day, a body which shall be known as Comhairle na mBreithiúna or, in the English language, the Judicial Council (in this Act referred to as the “Council”) to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.

(2) The Council shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be independent in the performance of its functions.

(3) The Council shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name, and shall, with the consent of the Minister and the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have power to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

(4) The Council shall have a seal and the seal shall be authenticated by the signatures of—

(a) the chairperson of the Council or another member of the Council authorised by it to act in that behalf, and

(b) the Secretary or another member of the staff of the Council authorised by it to act in that behalf.

(5) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Council and every document purporting—

(a) to be an instrument made by the Council, and

(b) to be sealed with the seal of the Council authenticated in accordance with subsection (4),

shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such an instrument without further proof, unless the contrary is shown.

Functions of Council

7. (1) The functions of the Council shall be to promote and maintain—

(a) excellence in the exercise by judges of their judicial functions,

(b) high standards of conduct among judges, having regard to the principles of judicial conduct requiring judges to uphold and exemplify judicial independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety (including the appearance of propriety), competence and diligence and to ensure equality of treatment to all persons before the courts,

(c) the effective and efficient use of resources made available to judges for the purposes of the exercise of their functions,

(d) continuing education of judges,

(e) respect for the independence of the judiciary, and

(f) public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Council shall—

(a) review a proposal, report or recommendation submitted to it by the Board under section 11 (1)(c),

(b) consider a matter referred to it by a committee under section 16 (5),

(c) if appropriate, make decisions in relation to a proposal, report or recommendation referred to in paragraph (a) or a matter referred to in paragraph (b),

(d) adopt and publish in such manner as it considers appropriate—

(i) guidelines concerning judicial conduct and ethics prepared and submitted to the Board by the Judicial Conduct Committee under section 43 (3)(d) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(f), or

(ii) amendments to guidelines concerning judicial conduct and ethics so prepared and submitted under section 43 (3)(e) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(f),

as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 12 months, after such submission,

(e) develop and manage schemes for the education and training of judges,

(f) prepare and disseminate information and materials among judges for their use in the exercise of their functions,

(g) adopt—

(i) draft personal injuries guidelines prepared and submitted by the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee to the Board under section 18 (2)(a) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(d), or

(ii) any draft amendments to personal injuries guidelines prepared and submitted by that Committee to the Board under section 18 (2)(b) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(d),

as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 12 months, after such submission and publish the personal injuries guidelines and amendments in such manner as it considers appropriate as soon as practicable following such adoption,

(h) adopt and publish in such manner as it considers appropriate—

(i) sentencing guidelines prepared and submitted to the Board by the Sentencing Guidelines and Information Committee under section 23 (2)(a) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(e), or

(ii) amendments to sentencing guidelines so prepared and submitted under section 23 (2)(b) with the modifications (if any) made by the Board under section 11 (1)(e),

as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 12 months, after such submission,

(i) promote among judges, in such manner as it considers appropriate, an understanding of the principles governing the assessment and award of damages for personal injuries,

(j) subject to section 23 , promote an understanding of sentencing principles and practice among judges and persons other than judges in such manner as it considers appropriate,

(k) establish, maintain and improve communication with—

(i) bodies representing judges appointed to courts of places other than the State, and

(ii) international bodies representing judges,

and

(l) assist with the provision of support to judges generally.

(3) The Council shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions, including the power—

(a) to establish committees in accordance with this Act, and

(b) to delegate any of its functions to a committee.

(4) The Council may for the purposes of the performance of its functions or the functions of a committee—

(a) enter into contracts or arrangements, and

(b) exercisable only with the consent of the Minister, engage consultants or advisers.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the functions referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) and paragraphs (g) and (h) of subsection (2), other than in so far as the functions referred to in paragraphs (d), (g) and (h) refer to publication, shall not be—

(a) performed by the Board on behalf of the Council,

(b) delegated to a committee, or

(c) otherwise performed by any person other than the Council.

Membership of Council

8. (1) The Council shall comprise the following members:

(a) the Chief Justice and the ordinary judges of the Supreme Court;

(b) the President of the Court of Appeal and the ordinary judges of the Court of Appeal;

(c) the President of the High Court and the ordinary judges of the High Court;

(d) the President of the Circuit Court and the ordinary judges and specialist judges of the Circuit Court;

(e) the President of the District Court and the judges of the District Court other than the President of that Court.

(2) Subject to section 9 (5), the Council may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies in its membership.

(3) When a member of the Council ceases to be a judge, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Council.

(4) The Chief Justice shall be the chairperson of the Council and the President of the Court of Appeal shall be its vice-chairperson.

Meetings and procedures of Council

9. (1) The Council shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions but in each year shall hold at least one meeting.

(2) The first meeting of the Council shall be held not later than 3 months after the establishment day.

(3) At a meeting of the Council—

(a) the chairperson of the Council shall, if present, be the chairperson of the meeting,

(b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Council is not present, or if the office of chairperson of the Council is vacant, the vice-chairperson of the Council shall be the chairperson of the meeting, and

(c) if and so long as neither the chairperson nor the vice-chairperson of the Council is present, or if the offices of chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Council are vacant, the next most senior judge present shall be the chairperson of the meeting.

(4) Every question at a meeting of the Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Council present and voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of the votes, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(5) The quorum for a meeting of the Council shall be—

(a) not less than half of the total number of its members, and

(b) not less than one-quarter, or such greater proportion as the Council may determine, of the total number of members of each Court, namely, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court, rounded up to the nearest whole number.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(b), the members of each Court shall not include ex officio members of that Court.

(7) Subject to this Act, the Council may regulate its own procedures.

(8) A member of the Council may, in such form and manner as may be determined by the Council in accordance with subsection (7), designate another member of the Council to vote as his or her proxy at a meeting of the Council.