The Gazette 1984

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE Vol. 78 No. 6

July/August 1984

In this issue

Comment

D URING the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill through the Dáil the question of the method of appointment of the Judiciary was raised. Such discussions normally focus on the danger of political appointments to the Bench but on this occasion some deputies advocated that there should be a training period for judicial appointees. It is commonplace that Judges at all levels are appointed at the last possible moment, presumably due to the parsimony of t h e ' Department of Finance in endeavouring to ensure that judicial salaries are payable for the minimum period. A barrister or solicitor may be in the hurly-burly of practice one day and be sworn in and sitting on the Bench two days later. While it is one of the cornerstones of the Common Law system that Judges should only be appointed from among the practising profession, it has to be said that the 'instant' creation of Judges, if it ever was, may no longer be appropriate. The fact that it has not been traditional to require Judges to undergo any course of pre-appointment training or induction is not of itself a justification for continuing this practice. Twenty years ago most solicitors, at least, tended to be general practitioners, used to carrying on a certain amount of District Court practice. With the increase in the size of practices and increasing specialisation, partly brought about by the introduction of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, an increasing number of solicitors, otherwise well-qualified to be appointed to the Bench, will not have had recent day to day familiarity with District Court practice and, in particular, with the application of the rules of evidence or the strict burden of proof in criminal cases. It may also be the case that a number of such appointees might not have sufficient experience of the Family Law cases which are now dealt with in the District Court. Other Common Law jurisdictions have found it advisable to require newly appointed Judges to undergo training or induction programmes before they are permitted to take charge of trials. Even at the High Court level, there is increasing use in Britain of Deputy High Court judges, acting on a temporary and part-time basis. Whether in a small legal community such as ours it would be feasible to adopt this practice is doubtful. Even if it is not, it should be possible to arrange that training and induction programmes be made available for newly appointed Judges, with a view to ensuring that the high standards of our judiciary, particularly at the District Court level, are not eroded by the appointment of worthy but not necessarily the most suitably experienced Justices. • 151

Comment

151

Schools' Liability for Negligence

153

Practice Notes

159

Solicitors' Remuneration General Order, 1984...

161

Admiralty Courts in Ireland

163

Crossword

169

Presentation of Parchments

172

D ' a r y

175

Correspondence

177

Medico-Legal Society

177

Solicitors' Golfing Society

177

Professional Information

178

Executive Editor: Mary Buckley Editorial Board:

William Earley, Chairman John F. Buckley Gary Byrne Charles R. M. Meredith Michael V. O'Mahony Maxwell Sweeney

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Printing: Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford The views expressed in this publication, save where other-wise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication doés not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.