Colm Keena

A new "fast-track" Commercial Court to hear cases where more than €1 million is in dispute will come into effect from Monday next.

The establishment of the court, which will be part of the High Court, will bring the Republic into line with England and Scotland and will allow for a number of new procedures aimed at shortening the duration of trials.

It will allow for the increased use of new technology in the processing of cases as well as the hearing of evidence by video link from abroad. The court will deal with cases where the value at issue exceeds €1 million. The announcement of the establishment of the court by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, yesterday follows the publication of a report recommending the measure in February 2002.

The Report from the Committee on Court Practice and Procedure recommended the establishment of such a court in order to underpin the attractiveness of the Republic for commercial investment.

The Law Society last night welcomed the creation of the new court. "A first-class economy needs a first-class commercial court system," said Mr Ken Murphy, director-general of the Law Society "We are pleased to have worked with judges Susan Denham and Peter Kelly and others in developing this major reform of commercial litigation in Ireland. If it is given the resources, it will be a success for everyone concerned.

"It has been self-evident for some time that there was a need for a court dealing specifically with commercial matter."

The scope of the court will include commercial transactions, intellectual property disputes, and commercial "passing off" claims. It will also allow judicial review cases related to major commercial matters.

The President of the High Court will appoint Mr Justice Kelly to preside over the business of the commercial court.

Mrs Justice Finlay Geoghegan will also undertake work on the commercial list.

The new system will involve a number of measures aimed at "fast-tracking" the process. New pre-trail procedures will allow for the clarification of issues in advance of trial hearings, according to Mr McDowell.

The court will accommodate agreed evidence and oblige experts to confer with each other in advance. The court will have the power to require parties to set out their cases in writing, thus avoiding lengthy oral opening addresses by counsel.

Pre-trial conferences will be used to speed up trials by identifying the core issues and the type of evidence that will be required. Witness statements will be exchanged in advance and will be capable of being used in evidence once verified on affidavit. The court will have the power to make orders for electronic filing of documents and electronic exchange of documents and for the use in court of standardised IT formats.

"A judge may allow a witness to give evidence, whether from within or outside the State, through a live video link or by other means," according to the new rules to apply to the court.