Our Licensing team attended the first remote hearing of a licensing list in the Dublin Circuit Court on Thursday, 21 May. There were six applications before the court. The applications were heard by Judge John O'Connor through the court's video streaming app 'Pexip'. The applications on the day were all based on written evidence which was before the court. Judge O'Connor did express a concern that where oral evidence is needed (e.g. evidence from an architect) that a physical court sitting may be needed.
Before the hearing, parties were provided with a login code for the Pexip app, which is similar to a conference ID code or a Zoom meeting ID. Parties can join a Pexip session from other video streaming services, including Skype, Zoom, Cisco Webex, Teams etc, without the need for all parties to use the same app or a managed integration tool to connect. The login code is specific to the particular hearing and a list of participants must be provided to the court office before the hearing.
As you might expect, details of the virtual courtroom must not be shared outside of those participating in the remote hearing. It's also not permitted to record, screenshot or broadcast the proceedings of the virtual courtroom.
A Virtual Annual Licensing Court?
Remote hearings could provide a good solution for the Annual Licensing Court (ALC) in September 2020 if physical court sittings continue to be restricted.
There are a number of reasons why a remote hearing could be suitable for the ALC including:
- The majority of applications are heard based on the application papers before the court and they don't require oral evidence;
- Notice parties are notified well before the hearing and would have all relevant documents;
- An Garda Síochána and the Fire Officer can confirm by letter whether or not they have an objection to a particular application;
- Likewise, any objectors could submit a written statement to the court office in advance of the licensing application; and
- All necessary documents can be lodged in the court office before the hearing. This would allow the District Court Judge hearing the applications to have an opportunity to review the papers in advance, which in turn would allow the applications to be heard efficiently.
On the flipside, it's not clear if the court's video streaming system would have the capacity to host the large number of legal representatives who would have to attend the ALC, particularly in the Dublin Metropolitan District Court. It's also likely that a court could take the view that any application that requires oral evidence would have to wait for a physical court sitting. However, if social distancing measures continue into the autumn as expected, remote hearings would probably need to be considered for ALC's around the country where such facilities exist.
