The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

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OCTOBER 1994

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Judi c i al Appo i n tmen ts Procedure under Scrut iny

Judicial Appointments

on Prime Time on RTE 1 on Thursday 22 September.

eliminate the massive backlog of Circuit Court cases around the county were to be brought before the Government by the Minister for Justice, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn TD. The article highlighted in particular the delays on the Cork circuit and the Carlow circuit. The article quoted a spokesperson for the Law Society as saying "at the time of the 1991 decision (to increase the Circuit Court jurisdiction) we argued that you could not increase the workload of the court without increasing resources. There is now a very large backlog of civil cases". The spokesperson added "having to wait so long becomes an injustice in itself. This is an issue of access to justice." An article in the Evening Press on 26 August said that "a chorus of opposition to moves to cut compensation for accident victims erupted today." According to the article, the Irish Wheelchair Association had said that bringing in a fixed schedule of payments, or abolishing compensation for pain and suffering, would make a "sick joke" of the ideas of fair play and justice. A spokesperson for the Irish Wheelchair Association, John Dolan, pointed out that while everyone would like lower insurance premiums, "the amount of extra costs that people confined to President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was quoted in the article as saying "we should be looking at all the things that are needed to make the roads safer instead of hammering the victims." wheelchairs encounter is just astronomical." Gertie Shields, "Capping" of Personal Injury Claims"

The main legal story in the period under review concerned the filling of the vacancy of President of the High Court arising from the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Liam Hamilton as Chief Justice. While the majority of the coverage focused on the political dimensions of the wrangle, the affair prompted scrutiny of the method of selecting and appointing judges. The front page of the Evening Press on 20 September under a banner headline "Lawyers See Red Over Judges Row", reported on a statement issued by the Bar Council which criticised the Government for doing a grave disservice to the judiciary. The Chairman of the Bar Council, Frank Clarke SC, said it was now time for a more open and transparent system of judicial appointments. His remarks were also reported in the national daily newspapers on 21 September. A feature article in the Irish Press on 20 September noted that the Progressive Democrats had suggested that the job of selecting members of the judiciary should be performed by the commission which currently appoints the Director of Public Prosecutions. "This commission is close to a three wise men system, involving as it does the Chief Justice, representatives from the Bar Council, Law Society and Attorney General's Office, as well as the Secretary of the Government," the article stated. In an article in the Sunday Tribune on 25 October, Dr. Eamonn Hall, Solicitor, argued that a modern democracy required a system of selection of judges that was transparent. He also made the point that solicitors were not eligible for appointment as judges in the higher courts. Dr. Hall was also interviewed

(See also Viewpoint on page 281)

Does the law have to be so slow?

The Irish Times and Cork Examiner of 25 August 1994 reported on comments by a solicitor in Cork, Colm Burke, who said that the Circuit Court in Cork would face a waiting list of 6,500 cases when sittings resume in October and that the list could react 7,500 by mid-March 1995. This would mean a four year wait for all civil actions including family law cases. "The demands on the Circuit Court staff and judges have greatly increased since the jurisdiction was raised. What the Government did appointing any extra judges or staff," said Mr. Burke. Colm Burke was also interview on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1 on 26 August. An article by Diarmuid Doyle entitled "Courts System is Grinding to a Standstill" published in the Sunday Tribune on 18 September, commented that "the justice system that will be headed from next week by Liam Hamilton is underfunded, understaffed and riven with delay and inefficiency". The article noted that a joint submission to the Minister for Justice last year by the Law Society and the Bar Council had called for the appointment of more judges and the creation of a separate agency to run the courts system, but had been substantially ignored by the Government. The article quoted a spokesperson for the Law Society as saying "delays are now chronic and they will get worse unless there is proper funding of the courts system by the Government." effectively was to increase the workload of the Court without

Disciplinary

The Irish Times and Irish Independent on 15 September 1994, reported on an application for restoration to the Roll

Meanwhile, the Sunday Press on 18 September reported that proposals to

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