Judicial Council Act 2019

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 33/2019

• Full Act
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• Act As Enacted
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Number 33 of 2019

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JUDICIAL COUNCIL ACT 2019

REVISED

Updated to 3 October 2022

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Judicial Council Act 2019. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 (31/2022), enacted 12 October 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 489 of 2022), made 30 September 2022, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 33 of 2019

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JUDICIAL COUNCIL ACT 2019

REVISED

Updated to 3 October 2022

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021 (13/2021)

• Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (4/2021)

• Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters) Records, and Another Matter, Act 2020 (20/2020)

All Acts up to and including Higher Education Authority Act 2022 (31/2022), enacted 12 October 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 489 of 2022)

• Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 182 of 2021)

• Judicial Council Act 2019 (Establishment Day) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 641 of 2019)

• Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 640 of 2019)

• Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 457 of 2019)

All statutory instruments up to and including Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 489 of 2022), made 30 September 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 33 of 2019

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JUDICIAL COUNCIL ACT 2019

REVISED

Updated to 3 October 2022

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Acts Referred to

Civil Liability Act 1961 (No. 41)

Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (No. 31)

Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005

Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 8)

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 (No. 39)

Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 (No. 31)

Courts of Justice (District Court) Act 1946 (No. 21)

zzxx the Courts of Justice Act 1924 (No. 10)

Courts Service Act 1998 (No. 8)

Data Protection Act 2018 (No. 7)

European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (No. 20)

European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2)

Freedom of Information Act 2014 (No. 30)

International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998 (No. 40)

Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)

Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 (No. 46)

Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 (No. 33)

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Number 33 of 2019

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JUDICIAL COUNCIL ACT 2019

REVISED

Updated to 3 October 2022

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An Act to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as Comhairle na mBreithiúna or, in the English language, the Judicial Council; to provide for its functions and for related matters.

[23rd July, 2019]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

PART 1

Preliminary and General

1.

Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Judicial Council Act 2019.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

Annotations:

Editorial Notes:

E1

For a table showing commencement status of provisions in order, see http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/isbc/2019_33.html.

E2

Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (3.10.2022) by Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 489 of 2022).

2. The 3rd day of October 2022 is appointed as the day on which the Judicial Council Act 2019 (No. 33 of 2019), in so far as it is not already in operation, shall come into operation.

E3

Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (24.04.2021) by Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 182 of 2021).

2. The 24th day of April 2021 is appointed as the day on which sections 98 and 99 (as amended by section 30 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (No. 4 of 2021)) of the Judicial Council Act 2019 (No. 33 of 2019) shall come into operation.

E4

Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (16.12.2019) by Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 640 of 2019).

2. The 16th day of December 2019 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Judicial Council Act 2019 (No. 33 of 2019), shall come into operation:

(a) section 4;

(b) Part 2;

(c) Part 3, in so far as it is not already in operation;

(d) Part 4, in so far as it is not already in operation;

(e) Chapter 2 (in so far as it is not already in operation) of Part 5;

(f) section 52;

(i) section 66, in so far as it is not already in operation;

(j) sections 85 and 87;

(k) Part 6, other than sections 98 and 99.

E5

Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (10.09.2019) by Judicial Council Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 457 of 2019).

2. The 10th day of September 2019 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Judicial Council Act 2019 (No. 33 of 2019) shall come into operation:

(a) sections 1 and 2;

(b) section 24(4);

(c) section 25;

(d) sections 32 to 34;

(e) section 44(6);

(f) section 45;

(g) section 65;

(h) section 66(3).

2.

Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Board” means the Board of the Council;

“committee” means a committee of the Council, namely—

(a) the Judicial Studies Committee,

(b) the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee,

(c) the Sentencing Guidelines and Information Committee,

(d) each of the Judicial Support Committees,

(e) the Judicial Conduct Committee, or

(f) a committee established under section 16;

“complaint” means a complaint made under section 50;

“complainant” means a person who makes a complaint or on whose behalf a complaint is made;

“Complaints Review Committee” means the Complaints Review Committee established under section 55;

“control”, in relation to a document, includes the ability to procure the document;

“co-opted member of the Board” has the meaning assigned to it by section 12(5);

“Council” means the Judicial Council established by section 6;

“Data Protection Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016¹ on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation);

“designated judge or designated judges”, in relation to the process for the resolution by informal means of complaints under Chapter 4 of Part 5, means—

(a) in the case of an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice,

(b) in the case of an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal,

(c) in the case of an ordinary judge of the High Court, the President of the High Court,

(d) in the case of an ordinary judge or a specialist judge of the Circuit Court, the President of the Circuit Court,

(e) in the case of a judge (other than the President) of the District Court, the President of the District Court,

(f) in the case of the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court or the President of the District Court, the Chief Justice, and

(g) in the case of the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the High Court, the President of the Circuit Court and the President of the District Court;

“document” includes—

(a) a book, record or other written or...