O'Brien v The Clerk of Dail Eireann

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Clarke C.J.,MacMenamin J.,O'Malley J.
• Judgment Date: 06 October 2017
• Neutral Citation: [2017] IESCDET 100
• Court: Supreme Court
• Date: 06 October 2017

[2017] IESCDET 100

THE SUPREME COURT

DETERMINATION

Clarke C.J.

MacMenamin J.

O'Malley J.

BETWEEN

DENIS O'BRIEN

PLAINTIFF

AND

THE CLERK OF DAIL EIREANN SEAN BARRETT JOE CAREY JOHN HALLIGAN MARTIN HEYDON PAUL KEHOE JOHN LYONS DINNY MC GINLEY SEAN O FEARGHAIL AENGUS O SNODAIGH

AND

EMMET STAGG (MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURE AND PRIVILEGES OF DAIL EIREANN)

IRELAND

AND

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

DEFENDANTS

APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL TO WHICH ARTICLE 34.5.4° OF THE CONSTITUTION APPLIES

Result: The Court grants leave to the Applicant to appeal to this Court directly from the High Court

Reasons given:

Jurisdiction

1 The applicant seeks leave to appeal the decision of the High Court (Ní Raifeartaigh J.) in respect of his challenge to a decision of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Dáil Éireann. Ní Raifeartaigh J. dismissed the proceedings on the ground that the case was non-justiciable – see O'Brien v Clerk of Dáil Éireann and Others [2017] IEHC 179. The respondents (the Committee, Ireland and the Attorney General) intend to oppose the appeal but do not oppose the grant of leave to appeal.

2 The Court considers it desirable to point out that a determination of the Court on an application for leave, while it is final and conclusive so far as the parties are concerned, is a decision in relation to that application only. The issue is whether the questions raised, and the facts underpinning them, meet the constitutional criteria for leave. It will not, save in the rarest of circumstances, be appropriate to rely on a refusal of leave as having a precedential value in relation to the substantive issues in the context of a different case. Where leave is granted, any issue canvassed in the application will in due course be disposed of in the substantive decision of the Court.

The proceedings

3 The issues in the case are set out fully in the notices filed by the parties. Those notices are available on this website and will not be discussed in any detail here.

The criteria

4 The criteria for a leapfrog appeal, where the appellant wishes to proceed in this Court rather than the Court of Appeal, have been discussed in a range of determinations made by this Court since the 33rd Amendment to the Constitution came into force. It is clear that the constitutional function of this Court is no longer that of an appeal court designed to correct alleged errors by the trial court. Where it is said that...