The new Commercial Court, which will accept documents filed electronically, will greatly speed up cases and create more capacity in the courts, according to the Chief Justice.

Mr Justice Murray was speaking at the formal launch of the Commercial Court as a part of the High Court yesterday.

A commercial list has operated on a pilot basis for the last nine months, but became formally distinct from the rest of the High Court list yesterday.

The courts that deal with cases on this list, heard by Mr Justice Kelly and Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan, will have computer terminals in them.

This will allow the filing of documents online and the presentation and distribution of exhibits and evidence electronically in court.

It will also allow video conferencing, with remote live access to witnesses.

Digital audio recording will allow evidence to be recorded and logged on disk, Mr Justice Murray said.

"The introduction of technology into the Commercial Court is not just for the benefit of this class of case, but benefits the administration of justice as a whole by ensuring that there are more courts and judicial time available to deal with the entire range of cases which come before the courts," he said.

He said this technology would be extended to the full court complex in the building in Bow Street housing the Commercial Court, and was also being replicated in the newly refurbished court complex in Cork and those in other major towns.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said that since the Commercial Court had started on a pilot basis, cases involving tens and even hundreds of millions of euro had been processed.

Some 24 cases had been admitted to the court, of which 15 had been disposed of. Written judgments had been delivered in seven, and four cases were listed for full hearing next term.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who formally launched the Commercial Court, said it represented another milestone in the programme of modernisation of the courts.

The launch of the court was welcomed by solicitors McCann Fitzgerald, who said it had already demonstrated its benefit to businesses, both domestic and foreign.

According to Mr Roddy Bourke, a litigation partner in the firm: "With such quick turnaround, it is clear that the court offers high speed, high quality litigation that focuses on moving cases on to trial or settlement."

The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland said the court had been "both effective and efficient".

"The new court is contributing significantly to the commercial and legal infrastructure available to the business community," said chamber chief executive Mr John Dunne.

He called for a similar process to be put in place to handle smaller claims.

At the moment, the Commercial Court can only deal with cases where the value of the claim is not less than €1 million.