Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

rdf:langString Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

rdf:langString Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

rdf:langString Ireland

rdf:langString Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2013

rdf:langString To establish a Court of Appeal

rdf:langString The Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Act 2013 is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which established a Court of Appeal to sit between the existing High and Supreme Courts for the purpose of taking over most of the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The amendment was approved by the electorate in a referendum on 4 October 2013, and then signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 1 November 2013. While the amendment provided for the new court to hear most appeals, it also provided for exceptions that could go directly to the Supreme Court. The Thirty-third Amendment makes appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court subject to obtaining the Supreme Court's leave. Such leave would only be granted in cases of general public importance or in the interests of justice. The intent of the amendment was to reduce the work load of the Supreme Court, allowing it to concentrate on a smaller number of more important cases. Before the adoption of the amendment, the Supreme Court had mandatory jurisdiction—civil cases decided by the High Court were directly appealable to the Supreme Court, which had no choice over which appeals it heard. The bill was passed through both houses of the Oireachtas on 24 July 2013. A referendum was held on 4 October 2013, at which 65.1% voted in favour, on a turnout of 39.15%. The Court of Appeal was created in October 2014 under statutes mandated by the amended Constitution.