The adjournment of rape and murder trials at the Central Criminal Court for up to two years when there are no judges available has again been highlighted by Mr Justice Paul Carney.
Mr Justice Carney made his comments after adjourning a rape case involving two accused to the next session in June for fixing trial dates.
He set dates at the April session up to December 2003 for 19 rape and 11 murder trials.
He said the "pain and suffering" of victims and relatives in these cases which could not be dealt with on the designated dates was "beyond comprehension".
Mr Justice Carney said there was a delay of 16 months "and rising" in getting serious sex assault and murder cases listed for trial hearing.
"The victims and relatives have generally waited 16 months for their case to get on, and when there is no judge and court available to deal with it on that date, it goes back for at least another 16 months," he said.
Mr Justice Carney said he was "substantially the only full-time High Court judge dealing with the criminal trials." The situation would not change, he said, until a sufficient number of judges was appointed to remedy the present "serious inadequacy" in the number available.
Defence counsel in one rape case which could not get on recently told Mr Justice Carney that his client was under "enormous stress", due to his case having failed to get on three times previously, and counsel had asked for "some possible priority" in seeking an early trial date.
Counsel for others accused repeated this request in their cases then and in more recent hearings and Mr Justice Carney has replied that the same could be said in most of the cases which came before the court for listing.
Mr Justice Carney told the counsel that despite having a "no adjournment" rule, he had no choice in the matter but to put their cases back when he had no judge available to take them.