A foreign court will sit in the Four Courts for the first time next Monday, when the Supreme Court of New South Wales hears a case involving an Irish litigant.
Mr Garry Mulligan (32), a former train driver from Donnycarney, in Dublin is suing the local authorities in charge of the Australian seaside resort of Coffs Harbour for injuries he received while on holiday there in 1999.
He was holidaying with his girlfriend, Ms Jennifer Brady, when he received the injuries while swimming. He claims that only the quick thinking of his girlfriend saved him from drowning.
He will claim that Coffs Harbour City Council and Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore Reserve were negligent in the way they constructed a pier, causing a sandbank to form in a designated safe swimming area. Ms Brady is also claiming damages for shock.
Mr Mulligan, who uses a wheelchair, was unable to travel to Australia for the case, and, because of the potential size of the damages, the Australian authorities decided to take evidence in Ireland rather than via video-link. This is the third time the Australian court has travelled outside Australia. It is the first time that the Irish court system has hosted a court from a foreign jurisdiction.
This necessitated a special High Court order to appoint the head of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Mr Justice Anthony Whealy, as a commissioner, in order for him to take evidence.
The visiting court, including all the officials, is expected to number about 12, and the hearing is expected to take up to three weeks, according to a spokesman for the Courts Service. The case will conclude in Australia.