Learn About the Law
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learn about the law
Have you ever wondered how the law is made, what goes on in the courts, or what the law is for?
We live in an amazing country with one of the best legal systems in the world, so we’d like to help you learn a bit about our legal system.
We thought you might also like to know what it is like to work in a law firm, so you’ll be able to see all the different areas of law that we practise at McCann FitzGerald.
We’ve thrown in some unexpected facts that might surprise you and, you never know, maybe one day you’ll work in the justice system and help make things fairer for everyone.
You’re smart, so when you’ve finished this smart pack you’ll know about
X Who makes the law in Ireland X What the law looks like X The different courts and what they do X Barristers and what it’s like to argue legal cases X Solicitors and how they help their clients learn about the law quiz question Why does Ireland have a constitution? The Law
Law is a set of rules that we live by. If the law is clear, then people know how things should be done. The law also has to be fair and protect people.
Law comes from a few different places. Lawyers in Ireland need to know about Irish law, EU law and international law in order to be able to give good legal advice and argue cases.
The Irish Constitution Bunreacht na hÉireann is a very important document. It protects Irish citizens and guarantees a wide range of rights. Thanks to the Irish Constitution you have lots of rights which are protected by law.
The only way to change the Constitution is to hold a referendum, where everyone of voting age who is an Irish citizen is entitled to vote for or against the change that the government wants to make.
Fact Did you know that the first Irish Constitution was made in 1922? The one we have today dates from 1937.
If the courts decide that a law is unconstitutional then it gets thrown out and the government has to start again.
Tough word Unconstitutional: A law that does not protect people the way it should under the Constitution.
mccannfitzgerald.com learn about the law quiz question quiz question Who makes new law in Ireland? Legislation
Legislation is made by the Oireachtas. When there is a General Election in Ireland, people put themselves forward for election to Dáil Éireann.
You’ve probably seen the election posters for The houses of the the 2020 General Election! When someone gets Oireachtas sit here elected to Dáil Éireann, we call them a TD and in Leinster House. their job is to represent their local constituency and help make important decisions. If their political party is in government, then they will try to support the government and put forward legal changes that they think are good for the country. These are called Bills. If their party is not in government, then we say that they are in ‘opposition’ and their job is to check what the government is doing and make sure that Bills are Dáil Éireann fair and make sense. TDs choose whether to vote (Lower House) for or against Bills.
If you had to make a law, what law would you make?
People who get elected to Seanad Éireann are called Senators. Their job is to scrutinise the new laws that the government wants to make. If they don’t think a Bill is a good idea, they may be able to stop it becoming law.
Tough word Seanad Éireann (Upper House) Scrutinise: To look at something very carefully to make sure that it does what it should do.
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How a Bill Becomes Law
Both houses of the Oireachtas have to pass a Bill before it becomes law. This can take a long time because changes get made along the way. The new law won’t take effect until it has been signed into law by President of Ireland the President of Ireland. Then it is called an Act. Michael D. Higgins signing a Bill
Did you know? The Oireachtas passes about 40 new Acts every year.
LEARN MORE www.oireachtas.ie/en/visit-and-learn/ how-parliament-works/how-laws-are-made/
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How the Government looks after justice The Government has lots of different departments which look after different things. The Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for looking after all aspects of Ireland’s justice system, and the Minister for Justice oversees the Department. That means that the Minister is charge of things like
The Courts
Crime Prisons
Making new law
Equality Immigration
Citizenship
All of these things make up Ireland’s justice system, which is one of the most respected justice systems in the world. A good justice system has to be fair to everyone and protect people’s rights. Charlie Flanagan is the current Minister for Justice.
Charlie Flanagan Minister for Justice 3 learn about the law
European Law
Ireland is one of 27 Member States of the European Union (“the EU”). The EU is a collection of different countries that work together to make things easier, better and safer for people.
To make the EU work, we have European laws which the different countries have agreed to respect. The 27 member states have also agreed a set of values which are important for how we treat each other and protect the rights of our citizens. Irish citizens are also EU citizens.
Tough Word Values: How we measure what is important to us in life.
What rights do you have that are important to you?
European law is made by the EU parliament. Its members are elected by voters in the different EU member states. Ireland has 13 MEPs.
quiz question Can you name three other EU member states?
LEARN MORE www.europarl.europa.eu/ireland/en/your-meps
4 learn about the law quiz question Name three ways that the law has made Ireland a better place. EU Laws in Ireland
As well as applying the law that is made here in Ireland, the Irish courts have to apply EU law. The EU has brought us some really important laws, for example:
The right to equal pay Women are often paid less than men for doing the same work. EU law guarantees women the right to be paid fairly for the work they do and they can bring cases to court to insist on being paid equally.
private Protecting our personal information Every time you use a phone or an ipad, you create personal information called ‘data’ which is very valuable because it tells people a lot about you, what you like and dislike, and even where you are! EU law makes sure that your personal information is protected, to keep you safe.
Helping police forces to solve crimes Police forces rely on information being shared when they are trying to solve crimes. EU law really helps this by, for example, allowing someone who is thought to be guilty of a crime to be moved to another member state where their criminal court case can be held.
quiz question Can you think of some important rights that you have as a citizen of Ireland? quiz question learn about the law What is the name of the international agreement on Climate Change?
Law From Around the World
There are even international laws that sometimes have to be applied in Irish courts.
Governments reach agreements with each other, called Treaties, which they have to stick to if they want to be able to do business with other countries. The EU has treaties with a number of different countries across the world.
Tough Word Treaty: An agreement between different countries to do things a particular way.
Did you know? Did you know there are more than 60,000 international treaties?
The Paris Accord 195 countries around the world have signed the Paris Agreement, to try to reduce global warming and stop climate change. This is an example of an international treaty. Countries who stick to the agreement will help to protect the planet. All countries of the European Union, including Ireland, have joined the Agreement.
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The Courts in Ireland
There are 5 different levels of court in Ireland. The courts deal with ‘civil’ cases and ‘criminal’ cases.
Civil Cases Civil cases are disputes between people or companies. They can involve rows about property, money, rights or family problems.
Tough Word Dispute: A disagreement or an argument.
Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin Criminal Cases When someone has been charged with a serious criminal offence then a criminal trial takes place, when a jury of 12 people decide whether or not they are guilty of the criminal offence. These are called criminal cases. Not every criminal case has a jury.
Did you know? Ordinary people can get called for jury duty, which means they have to attend court and might be chosen to sit on a jury in a civil or criminal case. If they get chosen then they have to listen really carefully and make difficult decisions.
The District Court The District Court takes place in courthouses all over Ireland all the time, and it deals with a range of different minor cases. District Court lists are very busy and judges Kilkenny can deal with hundreds of cases every week. There are 64 Courthouse District Court judges.
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The Circuit Court The Circuit Court has 43 judges plus the President of the High Court. They sit in courthouses in every county of Ireland and they deal with more serious disputes and criminal cases. They also get to decide whether District Court judges made the right decision.
Where is your nearest courthouse? Tullamore Courthouse The High Court The High Court normally sits in Dublin but judges also hear civil cases at special sittings in other cities around the country. When dealing with criminal cases it is called the Central Criminal Court. There are 36 judges plus the President of the High Court. The High Court deals with complicated cases and can decide whether Circuit Court decisions were right or wrong. High Court judges have to write long decisions which are called judgments.
If a party in a High Court case is not happy with what the judge decides, then it can go to the Court of Appeal to ask for a different decision. This is called an ‘appeal’. The Court of Appeal, which has 15 judges, will only make a different The Hon. Mr. Justice decision if it decides that the High Court got the law wrong. Peter Kelly President of the High Court Tough Word Party: No not like a birthday party! A party in law is just a name for one side of a dispute. Sometimes there can be lots of different parties involved in a case.
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quiz question What do judges do?
Did you know? There is a special part of the High Court called the Commercial Court, which deals with rows between companies where the amount being argued over is more than €1 million!
The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the top court. The Chief Justice is in charge of running the Supreme Court and it has 8 judges, made up of 4 men and 4 women. The Supreme Court sits in Dublin and it deals with very complicated cases, often to do with the Constitution.
Four Courts, Dublin What makes a good judge? Judges have to be very patient and good listeners. They listen to arguments made on behalf of the parties in disputes, interpret the law in accordance with the Constitution and make important decisions. They work very hard and give a special promise called an ‘oath’ when they are appointed that they will duly and faithfully and to the best of their knowledge and power do their job without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any man, and uphold the Constitution and the laws. Judges are appointed after they have worked as solicitors or barristers for several years.
Did you know? Chief Justice Frank Clarke was born in Walkinstown and studied Maths and Economics at University.
LEARN MORE https://beta.courts.ie/how-the-court-works
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Solicitors
A solicitor is a lawyer who is on the Roll of Solicitors, which is a list of people that are allowed to called themselves solicitors. To become a solicitor, you must complete a 2 year training contract and pass special exams.
Solicitors spend a lot of time talking to their clients about problems that they have and trying to work out ways that the law can help to find solutions. Some legal problems are very complicated and solicitors have to know a lot about the law and how the courts work to be able to help their clients. Solicitors tend to work in partnerships, which quiz question means a number of solicitors getting together to do How does someone business. In a partnership you have to be able to trust become a your partners to do business the right way and to be very solicitor? careful with clients’ money. Solicitors have to be good at communicating with other people.
Tough Word Solution: A way to fix a problem.
Law firms come in lots of different sizes. In small firms, solicitors need to know about lots of different things, including selling houses, drafting wills so that people can leave property to their families and how to get compensation for someone who has been injured. In big firms, solicitors often know a lot about a particular thing and they work alongside lots of different solicitors and other experts who help to run a big business.
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quiz question Name three things that a barrister needs to be good at. Barristers
Barristers are advocates and they appear in court to argue cases on behalf of their clients. They wear special black gowns and sometimes wear wigs! Most barristers in Ireland trained at the King’s Inns in Dublin, which allows them to practise as a barrister-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Their first year is spent ‘devilling’ with a Master, who is an experienced barrister who shows them how to argue in court, prepare cases and draft documents.
Tough Word Advocate: Someone who argues cases in court.
Barristers are brought into cases by solicitors. A barrister may be a junior counsel or a senior counsel. Junior counsel do lots of drafting work. Senior counsel tend to argue more cases and are allowed to sit in the front row of the benches in the courtroom. They often question witnesses and they also make legal submissions, explaining to the judge what the law says and how the judge should decide the case. Barristers fight really hard for their clients. They have to be good at speaking, writing and negotiating to get good results for their clients.
What skills do you need to be a good negotiator?
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Working in a Big Law Firm McCann FitzGerald is a large law firm based in Dublin, and with offices in New York, Brussels and London. A lot of the work that we do involves clients from other countries. We have 77 partners and approximately 630 people working across our different offices. Our lawyers specialise in many different areas but here are just some examples:
Aviation finance Airlines need to borrow or buy aeroplanes in order to fly people around the world. We have a team that specialises in helping airlines to pay for aeroplanes!
Real Estate Look around Dublin and you will see cranes and building sites everywhere! We have a team of lawyers that know all about buying and selling land and buildings, or constructing buildings on land owned by our clients.
Disputes When our clients need to go to court, often there are large amounts of money at stake. Our disputes lawyers love being involved in really complicated cases and they often deal with lawyers in lots of other countries.
Corporate There are lots of different types of company and there is special law which says how companies have to be run. Our corporate team advises on tricky transactions, where companies are being bought and sold or are making changes to how they are run.
So would you like to be a barrister, or a solicitor, or a judge?
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Technology
Using technology to make a difference!
At McCann FitzGerald we are always looking for new ways to help our clients. Did you know that technology is used in lots of different ways in law firms and in the courts?
Sometimes in court cases there are millions of documents that might contain information that would make a difference to the case. We use machines that can spot information and help us to decide what is relevant and what is not. This makes thing much quicker and helps to save money too.
The courts are introducing lots of ways to do things faster and better, like e-filing, which means that solicitors can lodge documents with the court office electronically.
Witnesses can give evidence by video link, meaning that they don’t have to be in a court room to tell their story to the judge.
When companies are bought and sold, it is really important to make sure that there are no hidden problems. Machine learning systems help us to spot information in documents quickly, so that we know which documents we need to read and which bits might be important!
Instead of having to write out agreements over and over again, we use technology to build agreements that our clients can use themselves so that they only need to come to us for advice when something is really tricky.
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