The Christian Brothers have decided to appeal the High Court decision last month arising from their challenge to proposed procedures of the investigation committee of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.
It means that the committee's work will remain suspended until the Supreme Court makes a finding on the appeal.
On January 16th last Mr Justice Abbott granted two declarations to the Brothers. One was that the investigation committee was acting in excess of the provisions of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000, in not providing an interpretation of the terms of the Act relating to the corroboration and testing of evidence of witnesses.
The second was that a requirement in the final ruling of the committee of October 18th, 2002, and the committee's framework document were also in excess of the provisions of the Act.
Where inquiries relating to allegations of abuse against deceased and incapacitated persons were concerned, the committee had required a respondent to provide a written statement as a precondition to the right to cross-examine witnesses.
Mr Justice Abbott also said that because lawyers for the commission had clarified issues relating to the aggregation of evidence during the proceedings, he would not make a declaration that the committee's final ruling on aggregating evidence was invalid.
In the Supreme Court yesterday, counsel for the Attorney General asked for an early date for the appeal hearing. It was stated that the appeal would take three days.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, said that when submissions for the appeal were received, a date for the hearing could be allocated.
In a statement yesterday the Christian Brothers said that, subject to the arrangements of the court, they would "co-operate fully with all parties to have the matter heard and resolved expeditiously". They hoped that the hearing of the appeal before the Supreme Court would take place "at the earliest date possible".
Last night Mr Colm O'Gorman of the One in Four group said the Christian Brothers decision was "absolutely their right". But he regretted it would mean a further delay to the work of the investigation committee. Such delays contributed to feelings of dwindling confidence and despair among abuse victims, he said.
Almost five years after the Taoiseach's apology to victims of abuse in residential institutions, so little had been achieved, apart from the report on the Baltimore Fisheries School from Miss Justice Laffoy, he said.
Meanwhile, the Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003, setting up inquiries into how the Dublin archdiocese and others dealt with clerical child sex abuse, will get a second reading in the Dáil next week. In a written reply to Labour TD Mr Joe Costello, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said he hoped "the proposed commission should be in a position to commence its work in September of this year".
