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Image:The Honorable Society of King's Innspng
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Nolumus Mutari<br/>(we are unwilling to change)
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1541 by Henry VIII
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Dublin , Republic Of Ireland
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Under Treasurer
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Camilla McAleese
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Henrietta Street<br/>Dublin 1
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+353-1 874 4840
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http://wwwkingsinnsie
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The or formally the '''Honorable Society of King's Inns''' ('''HSKI''') is the institution which controls the entry of ''
Barristers-at-law '' into the
Justice system of the
Republic Of Ireland . The
Society was created in
1541 originally at
Inns Quay , fifty-one years before
Trinity College, Dublin making it one of Ireland's oldest professional and education institutions - the name originates from
Henry VIII under whose reign it originated. Currently the society has an enrolment of approximately 300 students, whilst there are approximately 1,400 practising barristers in Ireland.
Candidates who have an approved law degree may apply for ''the Degree of Barrister-at-Law'' ( of
Ireland ".
The society has generally kept a low profile in current affairs in Ireland, though it did come to prominence in
1972 when financial difficulties lead to the society selling a considerable stock of non-legal books it had in its
Library . These were sold at auction at
Sotheby's ,
London and a considerable stock of them where sold to clients outside Ireland. This was seen at the time as a major cultural outflow as many of the books were of historical and cultural significance - additionally the society's library had received an annual grant since
1945 for the upkeep of the books from the
Irish Exchequer .
The society is seen as
Elitist ; this was brought to attention in
2004 when the society courted controversy by not recognising the law degrees offered by
Griffith College Dublin , which are conferred by
Nottingham Trent University ,
England . This was later overturned by the society which now recognises the degrees offered at the college by the university. Although, it should be noted that entry to the barrister's profession is still far more restrictive than entry to the solicitors profession. It remains that eligibility to undertake the professional education needed to become a solicitor depends on sitting an entrance examination - i.e. you get the results, you can start your education. The Kings Inns, however, regulates even the eligibility of persons to sit their entrance exams and this is what the controversy over Griffith was really about. If anything, the Kings Inns can be seen are more elitist nowadays given the change from a two-year part time education to a one-year full-time course which seems to have eliminated the possibility of completing the barrister-at-law course whilst working to pay the considerable fees required.
