Court of Appeal in Ireland | |
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Established | 1877 |
Dissolved | 1921 |
Country | Ireland, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Location | Four Courts, Dublin |
Authorized by | Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 |
Decisions are appealed to | House of Lords |
Lord Chancellor of Ireland | |
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland |
The Court of Appeal in Ireland was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 as the final appellate court within Ireland, then under British rule. A last appeal from this court could be taken to the House of Lords in London.
The Lord Chancellor of Ireland was President of the Court of Appeal. As in England, the full-time judges had the title Lord Justice of Appeal. Other senior judges such as the Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, sat as additional judges of appeal when required.
The following judges held the title of Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Ireland from the Court's creation in 1878 to the abolition of the pre-Independence Courts in 1924.
The Court of Appeal in Ireland was replaced by separate Courts of Appeal in Northern and Southern Ireland, along with a High Court of Appeal for Ireland, hearing appeals from both, under the United Kingdom's Government of Ireland Act 1920. The High Court of Appeal for Ireland was short-lived, and only heard a handful of cases before being abolished under the Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922.
In the Irish Free State, the Courts of Justice Act 1924 replaced the Court of Appeal in Southern Ireland with a Supreme Court of Justice under the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act 1922 by the Dáil, and a Court of Criminal Appeal to hear criminal appeals that would have been heard by the Court of Appeal's Criminal Division.