Appeals Process in the Legal System

This assignment delves into the structure and function of the appeals process within a legal framework. It emphasizes the hierarchy of courts, starting with the initial trial court, progressing to the Court of Appeal, and culminating at the Supreme Court as the highest appellate body. The document explains how individuals can appeal lower court decisions, citing relevant examples like 'the appellant' and 'merit in cases related to public wrong.' It also highlights the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal and its role in reviewing both procedural and substantial legal matters.

Running head: IRISH LEGAL SYSTEM
Irish Legal System
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question 1
Doctrine of precedent
The law of Ireland is based on common law, statutes and derives its principles from the
Constitution. The constitution of Ireland is called Bunreacht na hEireann. The Constitution of
Ireland is written and the form of governance in Ireland is democracy. The word precedent is
also known as stare decisis in legal parlance by virtue of which the previous judgments of the
courts are binding on future courts (O’Neill 2016). The judicial decisions are binding on certain
courts. The powers rest with the Court to invalidate any legislation which is unconstitutional and
violates the basic tenets of the Constitution. The Irish legal system has a very flexible take on
precedents and applies them prospectively. By virtue of being a country following common law
principles, the judiciary is bound to follow precedents (Morgan 2017). The legal system allows
that case laws can be a valid source of precedence and that other courts are bound by previous
judgments. The term stare decisis means to stand by the decision, which is, the lower courts have
to follow the principle of law that has been enforced by an apex court (Mhuirthile, Sullivan and
Thornton 2016). There are two parts to a court decision- the ratio decidendi and the obiter
dictum, out of which the ratio decidendi is binding (Delgado and Stefancic 2017). There has
always been difficulty in ascertaining the enforceability of a ratio decidendi. Ratio decidendi is
the reason or the rationale behind reaching a conclusion and the principle of reasoning is binding
on the lower courts to follow. The decisions of the higher courts are binding on the lower court
and this is enshrined in article 34.4 of the Constitution. There are landmark judgments that
buttress the provision of precedence as found in article 34.4. In understanding the principle of
ratio decidendi it is important to understand the principle in the light of hierarchy of courts
because the orders of the lower courts are not enforceable on higher courts but the principle

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behind the order has a persuasive value (Steiner 2017). The dissenting judgments only have a
persuasive value and they are not binding. Irish Shell v Elm Motors [1984] I.R 200 is a landmark
judgment that upheld the significance of precedence. Costello J held that the lower courts are not
bound to follow the decisions and judgments of the higher courts but if they are dissenting and
not following the orders, there should be valid ground for rejecting the orders of the higher
courts (Dahlquist 2016). This principle held by Costello was rejected by McCarthy wherein he
held that the Irish Courts were not a continuation of British Courts but were merely following the
guidelines and legal framework. The same logic was held in the case of Sparebank v Beirne (No
2) [1989] ILRM 57. The Court held that judgments prior to 1992 were binding on the court
unless the Supreme Court had valid reasons to move away from them and reject their principles.
Question 2
The Legal Aid Board deals with giving aid and advice to people related to representation
in court or legal advice by solicitors. The aid is given to people who satisfy the Board that their
case has merit and that they do not have the finances to support themselves (MacKinnon 2017).
Under Irish law every citizen is protected by constitutional rights and in cases when a
constitutional remedy against any wrong applies to a person and that person does not have the
financial backing to pay for legal representation, the State is duty bound to provide legal help by
way of legal representation (Aleksandrov et al. 2015). This was done in keeping track with the
observation of the Supreme Court where it was decided that a defendant shall be put on equal
footing with the prosecution and his rights shall not be infringed because he does not have the
financial means to represent himself. This rule shall be applied only when there lies a
constitutional remedy and it is not an absolute constitutional right. The Criminal legal aid is free
and is provided by the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 (Doran and Leonard 2016). The

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discretion lies with the Judges to allow free legal representation. If the judge is convinced that
the person does not have means to support himself in litigation, he shall grant criminal legal aid
and thereafter issue a legal aid certificate. In cases where a legal aid certificate is not available,
the person shall be entitled to apply for legal aid under separate schemes which are also free.
Anyone willing to apply for criminal legal aid service has to do it at the inception of the case,
which generally takes place at District Courts or Special Criminal Courts. By virtue of the
Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 the accused is informed by the court about his right to
legal aid. The accused is granted services of a solicitor who appears on the applicant’s behalf and
also helps in preparation and presentation of the case.
The civil legal aid scheme was established in Ireland by virtue of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform states that any person who meets the
requirements of sec 5(1) of the Act shall be entitled to civil legal aid. The aid shall include the
appointment of a solicitor or barrister who shall represent and help the accused in legal
assistance and shall represent in civil proceedings. The matters that fall under the legal civil aid
are defamation, licensing, conveyance, election petitions and so on and so forth. There is lack of
flexibility in civil legal aid and it is not similar to criminal legal aid. Some spheres of law are not
included in the scope of civil legal aid. The Board gives legal aid in giving aid and advice in civil
matters to those who are eligible to get assistance from the State. These services are funded by
the state but civil legal aid does not come free of cost and the accused has to pay an amount
called the “contribution”.

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Question 3
The Administration Justice in Ireland
The process of execution of legal system of the government is called administration of
justice. The process of administration of justice takes into account the need of every citizen to
get fair and equal access to justice. This is reinforced by the legislature of Ireland. The goal of
the administration is to provide justice to everyone. Section 7 of the Criminal procedure Act
2010 talks about any offence that is against the administration of justice. Justice is how an
administration is maintained to enforce fair and equitable rights (Feenan 2018). The conflicting
interests of the legal system should be aligned towards ensuring that everyone gets fair treatment
and treated equally in the eye of law. The administration of the society reflects in how a
wrongdoer is treated and how punishment is meted out to anyone who has been accused of
committing an offence (Kaczorowska 2015). The principles of the Constitution and other
legislative documents should be read in the light of giving effect to the rights of the citizens.
Being the follower of common law principles, it is necessary for the judiciary to uphold the
principles of the Constitution. The judicial function is considered the third arm of the
Government which aims to protect and enhance justice. The Courts are in charge of
administering justice and assignment of merited awards in response to punishments. The judges
are in charge of administering justice in line with the principles as enshrined under the
Constitution.
Court of Appeal

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The Court of Appeal Act 2014 empowered the setting up of the Court of Appeal. The
main function of the Court of Appeal is to hear appeal cases from the High Court and the Circuit
Court. The Court of Criminal Appeal and the Courts Martial Appeal Court used to deal with
appeal cases initially which was later taken over by the Appeals Court. The hierarchy of courts
needs to be understood in explaining the appeals cases. In cases the accused is not satisfied with
the verdict of the lower court, he may apply to the higher courts to get redress. The person
making an application for appeal is called the appellant. The Supreme Court is the highest court
of appeal as that is the last resort that the appellants have for redress. The cases that go to the
Supreme Court are the ones which deal with major public law wrongs. In cases when the
appellant is in strict need of overturning the orders of the lower court and there is merit in cases
related to public wrong, an appeal is preferred. The strength of the Court of Appeal is 9 judges
along with a President. The President covers the role of an additional judge. The Court of Appeal
does not have limited jurisdiction and its jurisdiction is flexible and it hears cases of both
procedural and substantial merit (Marett 2018). In cases of appeals arising from the Court of
Appeal, it is transferred to the Supreme Court. Appeal cases lie in matters related to public
interest and also in matters related to justice.

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