Supreme Court dismisses appeal from High Court, and: (a) upholds the constitutionality of Personal Injuries Guidelines adopted by the Judicial Council and later ratified by other legislation, affirming the legislative framework that mandates courts and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) to consider these guidelines when assessing damages in personal injury cases, on the grounds that the guidelines did not usurp judicial functions nor infringe upon the independence of the judiciary, as they were not mandatory and courts could deviate from them if justified, and that they served to promote consistency and predictability in awards without dictating judicial outcomes; but (b) determines that the legislative requirement for the Judicial Council to adopt such guidelines was inconsistent with the Constitution, and that a different mechanism for the adoption of such guidelines had to be prescribed by the Oireachtas.
Judicial Council Act 2019, personal injury guidelines, Supreme Court, constitutional infringement, judicial independence, separation of powers, Section 7(2)(g), invalidation, retrospective application, Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), legal effect, property rights, right to litigate, equality before the law, Article 40.1, damages assessment.