O'Connor v Legal Aid Board & Ors (Approved)

LEGAL AID BOARD, MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY, IRELAND AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

                  Although relief 12 seeks a declaration against all defendants under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 ("the ECHRA"), reliefs 10 and 11 are the only reliefs specifically directed at the State Defendants. In fact, they are not framed as reliefs but are assertions of vicarious liability for the alleged wrongful acts or omissions of the Board and its servants or agents including:

" in particular due to defined statutory authority, appointment of senior staff, management, policy, and reporting specified under the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, specifically sections 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 33, 36, 37, and 38, are vested in the second named Defendant. "

                  The grounding affidavit sworn on behalf of the State Defendants states that the State Defendants cannot be held liable, vicariously or otherwise, in respect of any wrongs allegedly committed by the Board, and that the second named defendant in particular is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any individual case with which the Board may be concerned. This was essentially the basis on which the High Court struck out the third proceedings on 20 February 2020.

                  Paragraphs 17 to 23 of the Plaintiff's affidavit are to much the same effect and the same conclusion applies. The latter part of the Plaintiff's affidavit denies the applicability of the decision in the third proceedings and accuses the State Defendants of ignoring the differences between the two proceedings (without detailing the alleged differences or explaining their significance). The Plaintiff's second affidavit again fails to advance matters.