An important initiative was taken by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Ronan Keane, yesterday when he announced the establishment of a working group to examine the operation and organisation of the courts in the best interests of the citizen.
It has been given a broad remit to propose any changes - structural or legal - to provide for the fair, expeditious and economic administration of justice, including the creation of new, or the alteration of old, jurisdictions. It is mandated to propose "root and branch" reform of a courts system which has been in crisis for many years.
This move is long overdue. The courts system has been buckling under the pressure of business from the litigation culture for more than a decade. Over 600,000 matters were presented to the courts last year. The delays in the process of the administration of justice can be chronic in some courts. The Courts Commission, chaired by Mrs Justice Susan Denham, addressed a number of key issues relating to the management and financing of the service in six reports over the last five years but it is only now that the jurisdiction of the courts, as they affect the ordinary criminal or victim, are coming under scrutiny.
It was generally accepted by the Denham Commission - and the Chief Justice yesterday - that the Irish courts system has remained largely unaltered since it was established in 1924. It has never been subjected to any critical analysis to see, as Mr Justice Keane stated, how far it falls short of achieving the presumed objectives of providing the citizen with a system of civil and criminal justice that is accessible to all and which functions in a manner that is impartial, open and expeditious.
Proposals have been advanced to improve the organisation of different courts over the years. The number of judges has been increased. The jury system has been modified. Any reform, however, has been piecemeal in origin, fire brigade in action. The Chief Justice's initiative in setting up a working group to propose a radical reform of the courts system is welcome, if overdue. It will enable a major plan for the restructuring of the courts to be presented to the new government for implementation rather than haphazard actions in problem areas.