The Irish Supreme Court

Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Brice Dickson

Provides a scholarly and readable account of the Supreme Court of Ireland's jurisprudence from it's foundation in 1924 to the present day
Explains how the Court has worked to differentiate itself from other jurisdictions by devising unique solutions to legal questions, especially in fields such as constitutional rights, judicial review of administrative action, and family law
Highlights the achievements and the deficiencies of the Court, comparing its performance with that of supreme courts in other parts of the world

The Irish Supreme Court

Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Brice Dickson

Description

This book examines the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Ireland since its creation in 1924. It sets out the origins of the Court, explains how it operated during the life of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), and considers how it has developed various fields of law under Ireland's 1937 Constitution, especially after the 're-creation' of the Court in 1961.

As well as constitutional law, the book looks at the Court's views on the status and legal system of Northern Ireland, administrative law, criminal justice and personal and family law. There are also chapters on the Supreme Court's interaction with European Union law and with the European Convention on Human Rights. The argument throughout is that, while the Court has been well served by many of its judges, who on occasion have manifested a healthy degree of judicial activism, there are still several legal fields in which the Court has not developed its jurisprudence as clearly or as imaginatively as it might have done. It has often displayed undue conservatism and deference. For many years its performance was hampered by its extreme workload, generated by its inability to control the number of appeals brought to it. However, the creation of a new Court of Appeal in 2014 has freed up the Supreme Court to act in a manner more analogous to that adopted by supreme courts in other common law countries. The Court's future looks bright.

The Irish Supreme Court

Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Brice Dickson

1: Introduction
2: The Origins of the Supreme Court
3: The Supreme Court and the Irish Free State
4: The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
5: The Judges of the Supreme Court
6: Constitutional Law
7: The Supreme Court and Northern Ireland
8: Administrative Law
9: Criminal Justice
10: Family and Personal Life
11: The Law of Obligations
12: The Supreme Court and the European Union
13: The Supreme Court and the European Convention on Human Rights
14: Conclusion

The Irish Supreme Court

Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Brice Dickson

Author Information

Brice Dickson, Emeritus Professor of International and Comparative Law, Queen's University Belfast

Brice Dickson is a legal academic who specializes in the study of judges, in particular their activism in the field of human rights. As well as teaching and researching at universities in England and Northern Ireland he has been a visiting professor in the USA and Australia. For six years he served as the first Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in the wake of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998.