Senior judges have sent an unprecedented letter to the Taoiseach outlining their concerns over the Government’s proposals to change the way judicial appointments are made.
The weakening of the Chief Justice’s role in appointments is one of their main concerns, along with the fact that a new commission for recommending judges will have a lay majority.
The commission will be set up under the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill which has been championed by Minister for Transport Shane Ross and is due to be debated in the Dáil this week.
The letter to Leo Varadkar was signed by Chief Justice Susan Denham; Mr Justice Sean Ryan, the president of the Court of Appeal; Mr Justice Peter Kelly, the president of the High Court; Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, the president of the Circuit Court; and Ms Justice Rosemary Horgan, the president of the District Court.
Ms Denham said the letter from the five court presidents was sent “in view of the serious implications for the administration of justice”.
The fact that the commission will have a lay chair, rather than the Chief Justice, is a major concern. Another is that the presidents of the Circuit Court and District Court are not represented on the commission.
Expertise
Neither the Courts Service nor the Government were willing to release the text of the letter.
Similar views to those expressed by the senior judges were contained in an earlier statement yesterday from the Association of Judges of Ireland.
The Bill will create a new body with a lay majority to select a ranked shortlist of candidates for the bench. The Government, however, will retain the final decision in the selection process.
In a letter in The Irish Times today, Mr Ross says there will be legal expertise on the commission. He says the Bill "substitutes the current practice of fast-tracking party loyalists to the bench with a commission comprising seven independent lay people and six legal experts".
A Government spokesman said the Bill, which has already been agreed by Cabinet, will be passed through the Oireachtas in its current form. Numerous sources suggested, however, that Opposition amendments, which further define the role of the lay chair, are a possibility. Such amendments could be examined, one Minister said.
Fianna Fáil is opposing the Bill, but Sinn Féin is supporting it, which means it is expected to be passed in the Dáil.
