Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act, 1961

Establishment and constitution of the High Court.

2.—(1) On the commencement of this Act, the Court of First Instance referred to in Article 34 of the Constitution as An Ard-Chúirt (The High Court) shall stand established.

(2) The High Court shall be constituted of the following judges—

(a) the president thereof, who shall be styled “Uachtarán na hArd-Chúirte” (“The President of the High Court”), and

(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.

(3) The Chief Justice shall be ex officio an additional judge of the High Court.

(4) The President of the Circuit Court shall be ex officio an additional judge of the High Court.

(5) (a) Where, owing to the illness of a judge of the High Court or for any other reason, a sufficient number of judges of the 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 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 High Court, the Chief Justice, at the request of the President of the High Court, may request any ordinary judge of the Supreme Court to sit in the High Court as an additional judge thereof, and every ordinary judge of the Supreme Court so requested shall sit in the High Court.

(b) Whenever an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court sits in the High Court in pursuance of this subsection, he shall be an additional judge of the High Court for all the purposes of that Court.