The new Court of Appeal is set to almost halve the backlog of cases currently before the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice Susan Denham has directed what cases will be dealt with by the historic court, which was established yesterday following a referendum last year.

The ten judges of the Supreme Court and High Court President Nicholas Kearns filed into court in front of the media, for what was partly a photo opportunity, to mark the establishment of the historic Court of Appeal.

Chief Justice Denham has previously described the new court as the most important change in the structure of the courts since Independence.

This evening she gave an outline of what cases it will hear.

Essentially, the new court will hear any High Court appeal that has not been heard in full or in part by the Supreme Court - unless the case is to take priority or a hearing date has been set.

The new court will ease the backlog of cases by dealing with around 250 out of approximately 600 appeals that are currently waiting to be heard by the Supreme Court.

This evening, nine judges will travel to Aras an Uachtarain where they will be appointed to the historic court by President Michael D Higgins.

The Supreme Court judges (as seen left to right in the video below) are:

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne
Mr Justice John McMenamin
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie
Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman
High Court President Nicholas Kearns
Chief Justice Susan Denham
Mr Justice John L Murray
Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell
Mr Justice Frank Clarke
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy
Mr Justice Peter Charlton