Irish Criminal Justice System
The Irish Criminal Justice system is an adversarial system where the prosecution side pits itself against the defence to prove its case. This requires the prosecution to prove to the jury the case against the accused beyond all reasonable doubt. Criminal cases are prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on behalf of the State. One of the downsides of this system is that the victim is not directly a party to the proceedings. However in recent years there has been much more recognition given to victims and the victim’s rights in the process.
More information on the criminal justice system, victims rights and the services that victims are entitled to is contained in the Victims Charter which was launched by the Department of Justice & Equality in February 2020. www.victimscharter.ie.
There is also very useful information to be found on the website of the Director of Public Prosecutions at https://www.courts.ie/how-the-court-works
Click on the link below for an explanation on how the courts work: