Courts (No. 3) Bill, 1986

Public bill · Government · Presented

The Courts (No. 3) Bill, 1986 would allow District Court offices to issue summonses administratively, rather than requiring the existing process in every case. Each summons would explain the alleged offence in ordinary language, name the person concerned where possible, and give the date, place and likely time of the court hearing. Applications could be made by the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, gardaí or other authorised prosecutors, while existing ways of starting cases would remain available. It would also validate certain complaints received between 20 March 1986 and its enactment, provided a summons was sought by 20 March 1987, helping prevent cases from failing because of procedural problems.

Last updated 11 June 2020