One of the noteworthy attributes of the Irish legal system is that its courts are self-administered.  Today, a panel of eminent Irish jurists, led by Chief Justice of Ireland John Murray, shared their thoughts and experiences with CBA Council on how this came to be.

In the mid-’90s, in the wake of several crises in the running of the courts, the Irish government undertook to reform how its courts were run.  Unacceptable delays caused court cases to drag on endlessly. Court staff were overworked and morale was low.

From the reforms emerged the Courts Service, an independent corporate organization, charged with managing the courts, supporting judges and informing the public on how the courts system works. Over the last ten years, it has transformed how the courts are run in Ireland. Instead of being answerable only to the minister, courts are now run by an independent board, led by a chief executive who is answerable to the public.

Whether the Canadian courts should adopt a similar model remains to be seen, as Canada’s  and Ireland’s legal and political systems are quite different.  For one thing, Ireland has a unitary system, as opposed to Canada’s federal framework, and administration of the courts falls under provincial jurisdiction.