High Court (Ireland)
The High Court ( Irish An Ard-Chúirt ) is the highest civil and criminal court in the Republic of Ireland . It is a court of first instance for important and serious cases in the area of civil claims as well as in the area of criminal justice. It also serves as a civil appeals court , has the power to decide whether a law is constitutional or not, and can judge government actions legally.
structure
The court was created by Article 34 of the Constitution of Ireland . The judges are proposed by the government and appointed by the president . The maximum number of judges is 32 - plus the President of the Circuit Court and the President of the Supreme Court, both of whom are ex officio judges of the Supreme Civil Court. Cases are usually decided by a single judge, but the president of the court can decide that special cases must be heard by three judges together. Cases are usually heard in the Four Courts building in Dublin , but there are also field offices across the country.
Nicholas Kearns has been President of the High Court since October 2009 .
Criminal cases
When dealing with criminal cases, this court also speaks of the Central Criminal Court . In the area of criminal cases, the court has the following responsibilities:
- Treason (also: attempted betrayal)
- Murder (also: attempted murder and conspiratorial murder)
- piracy
- genocide
- Rape and sexual harassment
All criminal matters are negotiated before a jury consisting of twelve people , which can pronounce a guilty verdict with a number of 10 votes. Appeals regarding the verdict or the sentence imposed are then heard in the Court of Criminal Appeal .
Civil cases
The High Court is the court of first instance for all civil claims with a damage value of over € 38,092.14 . The court of appeal for civil cases is the Supreme Court .