Court of Appeal backlog could take decade to clear

The backlog of Court of Appeal cases could take more than a decade to be cleared, according to a law lecturer at Maynooth University.

Seth Barrett Tillman, writing in the Irish Law Times, pointed out how slowly the total number of pending cases had declined over the past year.

Mr Tillman wrote: “In short, after one complete calendar year’s effort and millions spent and permanently committed in public funds, the number of pending cases started at 2,001 cases, but was reduced to 1,814 pending cases: a total reduction over the course of 2015 of merely 187 cases.

He added: “At this rate, and under the assumption that the number of appeals does not grow over time, the total backlog will be solved in just under 11 years.”

Mr Tillman told The Irish Times that his estimate was a “favourable assumption” as the number of new referrals is likely to increase over the years as people grow more litigous and cases grow more complex.

He also proposed banning oral argument in the vast majority of appeal cases in order to reduce the caseload.

Mr Tillman said: “The idea that every run-of-the-mill case should get oral argument is very, very wrong-headed.”

A civil servant in the Courts Service of Ireland told The Irish Times that Mr Tillman’s prediction was “dramatic” and many cases would be dropped before reaching the court.