Introduction to Law

Within the court system, jurisdiction refers to the authority granted to a court or any legal body to tackle and make conclusions on legal issues and to mete justice within a specific region of responsibility. While the term is used in legal settings, it can also refer to a specific geographical region to which such influence applies (Hames, Joanne, and Yvonne 2010). The issue of jurisdiction between political divisions such as districts, provinces and states, is captured clearly and elaborately within different legal documents including the constitution (Byrne, Raymond, McCutcheon, Bruton, and Coffey 2009). The circuit and district courts are both areas that require proper and detailed elaboration concerning their jurisdiction. The following section discusses the differences in jurisdiction between the criminal and the civil division in the circuit and district courts.

The Irish judicial structure is made up of numerous court systems, generally headed by the Supreme Court which is the Court of Final Appeal. Circuit courts and district courts form part of this court system. District courts have a lower jurisdiction mainly deal with lesser responsibilities such as holding trials. Conversely, circuit courts do not offer a platform for trials to be heard but only consider appeals for cases tried in the lower courts. An example is the P. Elliot & Co Ltd -v- FCC Elliot Construction Ltd [2012] IEHC 361 that was presented to the High court in 2012. Therefore, a number of different district courts fall under one circuit court (Fahey, Tony, Hayes, and Sinnott 2006). In terms of superiority, the circuit court can be deemed as being advanced when compared to the district court. When federal cases progress up the judicial system, they first pass through the District Court stage that is responsible for general trials (Siegan 2006). In cases at this level, the case is assigned to one judge (Sulmasy 2009). The circuit court has a much wider jurisdiction geographically. Typically, the scope may seem small because it handles about 13 different courts only, but it is imperative to realize that the circuit court system occupies many different buildings and regions in the country. Cases that reach this level are heard in the presence of three judges who are rotated in a regular fashion throughout the circuit.

The different roles of the courts provide a large amount of information on the jurisdiction of the courts concerning civil and criminal activity. These two courts play significantly different roles.

Circuit courts act as the intermediary between district courts and the Supreme Court. Within the Circuit, there are smaller courts such as the Second and Third Circuit that play a similar role but are located in one courthouse (Swift, Roger, and Kinealy 2006). The District Court is limited to acting in a specific geographic area where they hear general legal issues as well as disputes to federal laws. Examples of general cases include D.P.P. -v- George Redmond [2004] IECCA 15 and Robinson, D.P.P. (People) v.[2008] IECCA 126. Once a judge has made a ruling, discontented parties may appeal these cases. While district courts make rulings and issue sentences, the Circuit Court cannot do the same. Instead, Circuit Courts become active when they receive a filed appeal whose main duty is to handle appeal cases (Pfander 2011). Most of these cases are concerned with parties that challenge the current laws and the extent of their legality. In this case, disgruntled parties have to be heard at the Circuit Court before they progress to the Supreme Court. These cases are very rare such as the Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank -v- Coleman [2009] IESC 38 that was remitted to the high court later. In the same fashion, the Supreme Court also refers different cases to the Circuit Court or the District Court for assessment.

In terms of civil and criminal duties, district courts have jurisdiction over national matters such as cases involving understanding federal law or cases involving federal statutes. Circuit courts are highly significant because they are the key parties in setting legal precedents. The Donoghue v Stevenson[1932] AC 562 case set a binding precedent concerning manufacturers’ responsibility over the products consumed by their clients. (Daly 2006). The Irish Supreme Court addresses a remarkably small percentage of the cases it is given, and most of them are sent back to the circuit courts that are responsible for setting legal standards when they rule over appeals (König, Thomas, and Hug 2006). Therefore, most of the federal issues are tackled first by the district court before they reach the circuit court (Wright and Kane 2011). Similarly, the district court handles cases from all over the states in which they are located making them have a wider jurisdiction compared to circuit courts.

DCU Annihilation Bill

The Oireachtas refers to the national parliament within Ireland that is responsible for passing bills into law as well as making other constitutional changes. Before a bill is passed into law, it has to be approved by the three arms of the Oireachtas: the president, the Seanad and the Dáil (Gallagher, Michael, and Marsh 2011). Every bill must pass five main stages before they can be considered part of the law. While state bills do not have to be published, bills from private members need publishing before they can be formally acknowledged as having been received. Most bills are usually valid enough to pass this stage. The next stage involves a common debate on the elements of the bill where the members of parliament note different relevant aspects of the Bill that may require amendment (Strøm, Kaare, Bergman and Müller 2003). The third stage called the committee stage is characterized by an examination of the different sections of the bill. In this stage, the floor is open for the House to make amendments to the bill. Nonetheless, only ministers (Seanad) have the privilege of proposing amendments in the lower or upper House that would have adverse effects on other parties (Donlan 2010).

The fourth stage, popularly referred to as the report stage, is marked with further changes that come up from the third stage. At this fourth stage, little changes are made as they cannot be allowed to influence the bill (Kelly 2007). Lastly, in the fifth stage, the debate within the house is restricted to the bill only. Regularly, the members of parliament can opt to vote on certain issues by separating with the intention of forming two lobbies, one faction that votes for that issue while another that votes against the issue. A difference here is that the same bill will undergo the same five stages in the second house after successfully completing the first house. After the bill has been passed by both houses, the Taoiseach prepares a copy under the supervision of the Houses of the Oireachtas. This final version is delivered to the president who is expected to sign it and promulgate it as law.

Options for the President

Within the constitution, several articles that exist explicitly state that, in the event that a bill is brought before the president for signing, he or she may, after discussions with the Council of State, declare that the several provisions or the whole Bill to be unconstitutional with the backing of the Supreme Court (Hazell & Rawlings 2005). The time limit for allowing the Supreme Court to make legal speculations into the claims is seven days. This means that the Supreme Court has to assess the president’s reasons to confirm their validity. In the event that the claims are validated, the President can decline to assent to the bill (Dür, Andreas, and Mateo 2008). The ‘Protection of Life during Pregnancy’ bill was one such instance that required the president’s assent before it could become law. In this case, the Bill will be returned to the first and second house for in-depth debates and inspection to make the necessary amendments before it can be brought back to the president (Low, Peter, Jeffries, and Bradley 2011). Another major reason for the president not signing a bill into law can be a petition. In this case, the larger part of the Seanad and a third of the Dáil can lobby the President in an attempt to block the bill from being signed (Hunt, Brian, and Roscoe 2007).

The most common reason is that the bill contains matters of national importance that require the assent of the people that are typically represented by the President. In this case, he or she may agree not to sign the bill until further consultations are made with the Council of State (Coakley, John, and Gallagher 2005). However, even though the Council plays an advisory role, the president must make the decision alone. In such situations mentioned above, the President has the right to decline from signing into law the bill unless a referendum, a general election or a consensus is reached among the Council of State (Carolan 2012). Changes made by the government to the constitution must be approved by the Irish citizens in a referendum (Duffy 2009). After the bill is passed in the referendum, the president is obliged to sign the bill for the amendment to be complete.

References

Byrne, Raymond, J. Paul McCutcheon, Claire Bruton, and Gerard Coffey. 2009. The Irish legal system. Haywards Heath [England]: Bloomsbury Professional.

Carolan, Eoin. 2012. The Constitution of Ireland: perspectives and prospects.

Coakley, John, and Michael Gallagher. 2005. Politics in the Republic of Ireland. London: Routledge

Daly, Mary E. 2006. The slow failure population decline and independent Ireland, 1922-1973. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press.

Donlan, Seán Patrick. 2010. “”All This Together make up Our Common Law”: Legal Hybridity in England and Ireland, 1704-1804″. Mixed Legal Systems at New Frontiers.265-302.

Duffy, Stephen M. 2009. The integrity of Ireland: home rule, nationalism, and partition, 1912-1922. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

Dür, Andreas, and Gemma Mateo. 2008. “The Irish EU Presidency and the Constitutional Treaty: Neutrality, Skills and Effective Mediation”. Irish Political Studies. 23 (1): 59-76.

Fahey, Tony, Bernadette C. Hayes, and R. Sinnott. 2006. Conflict and consensus a study of values and attitudes in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Leiden: Brill.

Gallagher, Michael, and Michael Marsh. 2011. How Ireland voted 2011 the full story of Ireland’s earthquake election. [Basingstoke]: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hames, Joanne Banker, and Yvonne Ekern. 2010. Introduction to law. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Hazell, Robert, and Richard Rawlings. 2005. Devolution, law making, and the constitution. Exeter, UK: Imprint Academic.

Hunt, Brian, and Francis Alan Roscoe Bennion. 2007. The Irish Statute Book: a guide to Irish legislation. Dublin: First Law Ltd.

Kelly, James. 2007. Poynings’ Law and the making of law in Ireland, 1660-1800. Portland, OR: Four Courts Press in association with the Irish Legal History Society.

König, Thomas, and Simon Hug. 2006. Policy-making processes and the European Constitution: a comparative study of member states and accession countries. London: Routledge.

Low, Peter W., John Calvin Jeffries, and Curtis A. Bradley. 2011. Federal courts and the law of federal-state relations. New York, NY: Thomson Reuters/Foundation Press.

Pfander, James E. 2011. Principles of federal jurisdiction. St. Paul, Minn: Thomson West.

Siegan, Bernard H. 2006. Economic liberties and the constitution. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.

Strøm, Kaare, Torbjörn Bergman, and Wolfgang C. Müller. 2003. Delegation and accountability in parliamentary democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sulmasy, Glenn M. 2009. The National Security court system: a natural evolution of justice in an age of terror. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Swift, Roger, and Christine Kinealy. 2006. Politics and power in Victorian Ireland. Dublin: Four Courts Press.

Wright, Charles Alan, and Mary Kay Kane. 2011. Law of federal courts.

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