Family Courts Act 2024
|
PART 3 Family High Court | ||
|
Establishment and constitution of Family High Court | ||
|
9. Section 2 of the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961 is amended— | ||
(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): | ||
“(1A) On the coming into operation of section 9 of the Family Courts Act 2024, there shall stand established a division of the High Court to be known as ‘an Ard-Chúirt Teaghlaigh’ (‘the Family High Court’).”, | ||
(b) in subsection (2)— | ||
(i) in paragraph (a), by the deletion of “and”, | ||
(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a): | ||
“(aa) a judge who shall be styled ‘an Príomh-Bhreitheamh den Ard-Chúirt Teaghlaigh’ (‘the Principal Judge of the Family High Court’), and”, | ||
and | ||
(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b): | ||
“(b) such number of ordinary judges (each of whom shall be styled ‘Breitheamh den Ard-Chúirt’ (‘Judge of the High Court’) as may from time to time be fixed by Act of the Oireachtas and, from among those Judges of the High Court, such number of judges (each of whom shall, while so acting, be styled ‘Breitheamh den Ard-Chúirt Teaghlaigh’) (‘Judge of the Family High Court’) as may from time to time be fixed by Act of the Oireachtas.”, | ||
and | ||
(c) in subsection (5)— | ||
(i) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (a): | ||
“(aa) Where, owing to the illness of a judge of the Family High Court or for any other reason, a sufficient number of judges of the Family High Court is not available for the transaction of the business of that Court or, on account of the volume of business to be transacted in the Family High Court or for any other reason arising from the state of business in that Court, it is expedient to increase temporarily the number of judges available for the purposes of the Family High Court, the President of the High Court, at the request of the Principal Judge of the Family High Court, may request an ordinary judge of the High Court, who is not already assigned to the Family High Court and whom the President of the High Court believes to be, by reason of his or her training or experience, a suitable person, to sit in the Family High Court on a temporary basis. | ||
(ab) Whenever it appears to the President of the High Court that, in circumstances of urgency, an application in family law proceedings is required to be heard without delay and no judge of the Family High Court is available to hear the application, one or more ordinary judges of the High Court may be assigned by the President to hear the application.”, | ||
(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “that Court,” for “that Court.”, and | ||
(iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): | ||
“(bb) Whenever an ordinary judge of the High Court sits in the Family High Court in accordance with paragraph (aa) or (ab), he or she shall be an additional judge of the Family High Court for all the purposes of that Court.”. |