The operation of the second non-jury court will be suspended at the start of 2020, The Irish Times reports, owing to a decline in case numbers.

The second court was set up in April 2016 because the Special Criminal Court had a 20-month backlog for new hearings, but was criticised by civil liberties experts who said the expansion of non-jury hearings “flouts Ireland’s human rights obligations”.

The number of cases heard by the second court has since fallen from 60 in 2016, its first year, to 54 in 2017 and 51 last year.

The second court has sat much less often in 2019 and only a handful of cases are expected to be heard over the remainder of the year.

If the number of cases rises, “the second Special Criminal Court could sit again”, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.