Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 21:

In page 43, to delete lines 23 and 24 and substitute the following:“the High Court, or as the case may be, the Supreme Court—

(a) shall be construed as being without prejudice to Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution, and

(b) in respect of a reference in that regard to the “Supreme Court”, shall be construed as a reference to the Court of Appeal unless the context otherwise requires.”.

As it stands, section 69 specifies that references in any enactment to decisions of the High Court being final, subject to a right of appeal to the Supreme Court in certain circumstances, are to be construed as being without prejudice to Article 35.5.4° of the Constitution. By virtue of that article the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the High Court where there are exceptional circumstances warranting such an appeal.

The exceptional circumstances set out in the Constitution would not necessarily dovetail with the existing statutory regulation. For example, it is not unusual to provide that an appeal to the Supreme Court on a point of law requires certification by the High Court that the decision in question involves a point of law of exceptional public importance. Another formula applied is that an appeal on a point of law is subject to the leave of the High Court. Under the new constitutional regime such regulation is no longer possible in so far as the Supreme Court is concerned. However, it is possible with the court of appeal. The amendment is intended to make clear that any regulation in existing legislation which attaches a leave or certification requirement before an appeal can be taken to the Supreme Court is to be read as attaching such a requirement to the court of appeal.

See this speech in context