Lack of space to force more High Court cases out of Dublin

A lack of courts in the Four Courts and its precincts in central Dublin means that a growing number of High Court cases will …

A lack of courts in the Four Courts and its precincts in central Dublin means that a growing number of High Court cases will be heard outside Dublin, lawyers were told yesterday.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said that, following a number of new judicial appointments, there were now more judges than courtrooms, and legal practitioners should be aware that a certain number of High Court cases would be heard in places outside Dublin such as Naas, Dundalk, Trim and Bray.

He said this development was likely to have less impact on cases in the Commercial Court list than other High Court cases, but lawyers should be aware of the possibility that their case might be heard outside Dublin.

He said this development was not expected to have any effect on the tradition of the Commercial Court in having cases start at their designated time before a designated judge who had already read the legal documents in the case.