Charles McDonagh's Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | McCloskey LJ |
| Judgment Date | 17 November 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NIKB 116 |
| Court | King's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NIKB 116
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: McC12336
ICOS No: 22/100760/01
Date: 17/11/2023
IN THE HUGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
_________
KING’S BENCH DIVISION
(JUDICIAL REVIEW)
_________
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY CHARLES McDONAGH
FOR LEAVE TO APPLY FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
_________
The applicant was unrepresented
Mr Philip Henry (instructed by the Departmental Solicitor) for the Respondent
_________
McCLOSKEY LJ (ex tempore)
[1] Both parties have been notified of today’s case management listing. The
substantive listing is scheduled for 12 December 2023. There is no appearance on
behalf of the applicant. The respondent is represented in court by counsel.
[2] The court received an email yesterday from the applicant’s solicitors. The gist
of the email is that there would be no attendance by any legal representative this
morning because of some form of industrial action by – I will just quote from the
Law Society document to give it its formal description:
“Members of the legal profession practising in the field of
criminal law will be withdrawing their services
tomorrow, Friday 17 November 2023, across all criminal
courts.”
[3] This is the King’s Bench Division of the High Court. The High Court is not a
criminal court: see the Judicature (NI) Act 1978, Part II. It exercises no criminal
jurisdiction. The High Court exercises no jurisdiction in “the field of criminal law.”
It does occasionally consider, in the content of civil proceedings, a species of
challenge that is known under the Judicature Act and the Rules of the Court of
Judicature as a criminal cause or matter. Cases of this kind do not belong to the field
of “criminal law” and, hence, are not assigned or transferred to a court exercising
criminal jurisdiction.
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