Supreme Court of Ireland

The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal and the High Court, judicial review over Acts of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). The Supreme Court also has appellate jurisdiction to ensure compliance with the Constitution of Ireland by governmental bodies and private citizens. It sits in the Four Courts in Dublin.

Establishment The Supreme Court was formally established on 29 September 1961 under the terms of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. Prior to 1961, a transitory provision of the 1937 Constitution permitted the Supreme Court of the Irish Free State to continue, though the justices were required to take the new oath of office prescribed by the 1937 Constitution.Constitution of Ireland, Article 58 The latter court was established by the Courts of Justice Act 1924 under the terms of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State. Prior to 1924, a transitory provision of the 1922 Constitution permitted the Supreme Court of Judicature to continue, the latter established in 1877 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Whereas the 1924 act was a comprehensive revision of the court's foundation preserving little of the 1877 arrangement, the 1961 act was a brief formal restatement in terms of the 1937 Constitution.

Composition The Supreme Court consists of its president called the Chief Justice, and not more than nine ordinary members.See Section 6 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 as amended by Section 22 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013. There are two members: the President of the Court of Appeal who normally sits in the Court of Appeal, and the President of the High Court who normally sits in the High Court. The Supreme Court sits in divisions of three, five or seven judges. Two or more divisions may sit at the same time. When determining whether the President is permanently incapacitated within the meaning of Article 12 of the constitution, ruling on the constitutionality of a bill referred to it by the President under Article 26, or ruling on the constitutionality of any law the court must consist of at least five members.S.7, Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961.

Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of Ireland in accordance with the binding advice of the Government (cabinet), who, since 1995, act in turn on the non-binding advice of a judicial advisory board.See the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995

Current members NameImageAppointedAlma materPrior rolesNotesDonal O'Donnell March 2010UCD (B.C.L.), UVA (LL.M), King's InnsChief Justice since Oct. 2021 Iseult O'Malley October 2015TCD (B.A. (Mod) Legal Science),King's InnsJudge of the High Court (2012–2015)Séamus Woulfe July 2020TCD (B.A. (Mod) Legal Science),Dalhousie University (LL.M),King's InnsAttorney General (2017–2020)Gerard Hogan October 2021UCD (B.C.L, LL.M, LL.D), Penn Law (LL.M),TCD (PhD), King's InnsAdvocate General of the Court of Justice (2018–2021)Judge of the Court of Appeal (2014–2018)Judge of the High Court (2010–2014)Brian Murray February 2022TCD, University of Cambridge (LL.M), King's InnsJudge of the Court of Appeal (2019–2022)Maurice Collins November 2022UCC (B.A.), King's InnsJudge of the Court of Appeal (2019–2022)Aileen Donnelly June 2023UCD (B.C.L., M.Equal.S), King's InnsJudge of the Court of Appeal (2019–2023)Judge of the High Court (2014–2019)Niamh Hyland April 2026TCD (LL. B), University of Oxford (LL.M), King's InnsJudge of the Court of Appeal (2024–2026)Judge of the High Court (2019–2024)Brian O'Moore April 2026TCD (LL. B), King's InnsJudge of the Court of Appeal (2023–2026)Judge of the High Court (2019–2023)

members NameSinceAlma materNotesCaroline CostelloJuly 2024UCD, King's InnsPresident of the Court of AppealDavid BarnivilleJuly 2022UCD, King's InnsPresident of the High Court

Former members List of judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland

Tenure Under the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995, the retirement age of ordinary judges of the Supreme Court was reduced from 72 years to 70 years. Judges appointed prior to the coming into operation of that Act continued in office until aged 72. The Courts (No. 2) Act 1997 limited the term of office of a person appointed to the post of Chief Justice after the coming into operation of the Act to a period of seven years. A former Chief Justice may continue as a member of the Court until reaching the statutory retirement age.

Jurisdiction The Supreme Court hears appeals from the Court of Appeal, and as part of the transitional arrangements following the establishment of the Court of Appeal, from the High Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Courts-Martial Appeal Court, where cases have not been transferred from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction to hear leapfrog appeals directly from the High Court in exceptional circumstances.

The Court's power to hear appeals can be severely restricted (as it is from the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Courts-Martial Appeal Court) or excluded altogether, with the exception of appeals concerning the consistency of a law with the constitution. The Supreme Court also hears points of law referred to it from the Circuit Court.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in only two circumstances: when a Bill is referred to it by the President under Article 26 of the Constitution for an opinion on its constitutionality before promulgation, or when the court must determine under Article 12 of the Constitution whether the President has become incapacitated.

The Supreme Court originally had little discretion to determine which cases it hears as requirements to seek the leave of either the trial court or the Supreme Court itself before an appeal could be brought were rare. After the Thirty-third Amendment created the Court of Appeal, however, the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction is entirely by leave; the Supreme Court can refuse to hear any appeal (similar to the process in the Supreme Court of the United States).

Judicial review

The Supreme Court exercises, in conjunction with the High Court, the power to strike down laws which are inconsistent with the constitution. The courts also grant injunctions against public bodies, private bodies and citizens to ensure compliance with the constitution. The Irish constitution explicitly provides for the judicial review of legislation. Acts passed after the coming into force of the constitution, are invalid if "repugnant" to the constitution,Constitution, Article 15.4.2° while laws in force prior to the coming into force of the constitution are invalid if "inconsistent" with the constitution.Constitution, Article 50.1 The constitution also provides, under Article 26, for the judicial review of bills before they are (or would have been) signed into law. The power to refer bills is personally exercised by the President after consulting the Council of State. When the Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of a bill referred to it under Article 26, its constitutionality can never again be questioned in any court whatsoever.Constitution, Article 34.3.3°

Supreme Court judges are normally free to deliver their own judgements, whether dissenting and concurring. There is an exception when considering the constitutionality of a bill referred by the President under Article 26 of the Constitution, for which only a single judgment can be delivered.Constitution, Article 26.2.2° Formerly, the single-judgment rule also applied when considering the constitutionality of an Act of the Oireachtas passed under the 1937 Constitution; this was removed by the 33rd Amendment in 2013. Acts passed prior to 1937 have always permitted multiple judgments.

Jurisprudence

After a slow start in its first two decades of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has expounded a significant constitutional jurisprudence. This slow start was partly because, prior to 1922, the whole of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom, and Supreme Court judges had been trained in British jurisprudence, which stresses the sovereignty of parliament and deference to the legislature. It was also the case that under the 1922 Constitution there was a right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which was exercised on a number of occasions.

Nonetheless, from the 1960s onwards, the court has made a number of significant decisions. It has, for example:

Developed a doctrine of unenumerated rights based on an expansive reading of Article 40.3.1°, with elements of natural law and liberal democratic theory. Developed and defended the separation of powers. Ruled that major changes to the treaties establishing the European Union may not be ratified by the state unless allowed by a previously passed constitutional amendment. Ruled that Articles 2 and 3 (as they stood before 1999) did not impose obligations upon the state that were enforceable in a court of law. Discovered a broad right to privacy in marital affairs implicit in Article 41. Discovered a right to an abortion where there is a risk to the life of the mother through suicide in Article 40.3.3°. Imported the doctrine of proportionality into Irish law.

Significant rulings

1940 – State (Burke) v. Lennon, imprisonment without trial 1950 – Buckley v. The Attorney General (also known as the Sinn Féin Funds case) (right to property) 1965 – Ryan v. The Attorney General (doctrine of unenumerated rights) 1965 – Keaveney v. Geraghty (restrictions on frivolous and vexatious litigants) (re-affirmed in Wunder v. Hospitals Trust (1967)) 1966 – The State (Nicolaou) v. An Bord Uchtála (constitutional family only that based on marriage) 1971 – Byrne v. Ireland (unconstitutionality of state immunity in tort) 1974 – McGee v. The Attorney General (marital privacy and contraceptives) 1976 – De Búrca v. The Attorney General (equality) 1979 – East Donegal Co-operative v. The Attorney General (natural justice) 1983 – Norris v. The Attorney General (criminalisation of homosexuality upheld)Ireland was subsequently judged to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in Norris v. Ireland. Homosexuality was legalised in the Republic by the Criminal law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993. 1987 – Crotty v. An Taoiseach (ratification of European Union treaties) 1988 – Attorney General (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) v. Open Door Counselling (information relating to abortion) 1988 – Webb v. Ireland (non-survival of Crown prerogatives) 1992 – Attorney General v. X, more commonly the X case (abortion and risk of suicide) 1993 – Attorney General v. Hamilton (separation of powers) 1993 – Meagher v. The Minister for Agriculture (European Communities Act) 1994 – Heaney v. Ireland (doctrine of proportionality) 1995 – In re Article 26 and the Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995 (supremacy of written constitution over natural law) 1995 – Re a Ward of court (right to die) 1995 – McKenna v. An Taoiseach (referendum campaign finance) 2001 – Sinnott v. Minister for Education (limitations on right to education) 2003 – Lobe and Osayande v. Minister for Justice (deportation of the parents of citizens) 2006 – Curtin v. Dáil Éireann (removal of judges) 2006 – A. v. The Governor of Arbour Hill Prison (unconstitutionality of a law does not retrospectively invalidate all actions taken under it) 2009 – McD v. L (established parental rights for sperm donors) 2013 – Marie Fleming v Ireland and the Attorney General (upheld the ban on assisted suicide) 2018 – M. v. Minister for Justice (constitutional rights of unborn) 2022 – Costello v. Government of Ireland (ratification of CETA) 2023 – Heneghan v. Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (enactment of the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland)

Sharing of sovereignty