VIEWPOINT: A Letter to the Chief Justice

Abstract

Dear Chief Justice and Presidents of the Courts of Record, Access to Parties’ Briefs, Pleadings, and other Filings. At this juncture, the Supreme Court and High Court now have practice directions making parties’ briefs available to third-parties upon request. May I suggest that the remaining three courts consider adopting parallel practice directions—subject to well-established limitations involving national security cases, minors, etc? I would like to further suggest that the Courts move toward automatically making parties’ briefs (as well as other filings, e.g., pleadings) available, as soon as they are filed, to the public and to the primary electronic legal platforms, e.g., Westlaw and LexisNexis—this is standard practice in United States federal and state courts. Such a policy will have a strong tendency to disseminate and facilitate best practices in the bar and legal profession—promising more transparency and greater competition for legal services. The Supreme Court’s list and Court of Appeal’s list are small enough that briefs and other filings could be made available on the Courts.ie website. (The High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of the United States post all submissions—the day they are filed—as searchable PDFs, online on their own websites.) Access to legal submissions—providing practitioners, educators (including those at the King’s Inns and the Law Society), and students with a searchable bank of models—will raise the quality of briefing thereby facilitating the Courts’ reaching timely decisions, as well as, improve educators’ teaching best practices. Such a policy is an investment in Ireland’s litigation future. At some point in the not too distant future, the Chief Justice, along with other senior members of the Judiciary, will approach the Minister for Justice for an increase in funding for the Judiciary and the Courts Service. Would it not be helpful in making the “case” for additional funding to have at your fingertips all the good work of the Courts and a host of non-political, good-governance-type institutional reforms—all of which are low-hanging fruit within your easy reach?