The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

MEDIWH M ARCH1995

P R E S I D E N T ' S

M E S S A G E

Solicitor Judges

The Law Society Dinner was held on 6 April. Among the guests who attended the dinner were prominent members of the Oireachtas; judiciary; diplomatic corps; public service, and business and professional organisations. This annual dinner serves as an opportunity to return hospitality to those who have provided us with same during the year.'More importantly it serves as an opportunity to engender good relations with those people and organisations who are important to the solicitors' profession. We were honoured this year to have as our special guest speaker. His Honour Justice Michael Sachs from the High Court of England and Wales who made history by being the first solicitor in our neighbouring jurisdiction to be appointed a High Court judge. The motivation behind inviting Judge Sachs was to highlight the fact that in the UK solicitors are eligible for appointments to the High Court. He was made a High Court Judge in 1993 due to legislation passed two years previously to end the Bar's monopoly of senior judicial appointments.

country is that, except in the District Court, solicitors are not eligible for appointment to judicial office. In 1994, the Government announced proposed changes in our judicial system in the form of the Courts and Court Officers Bill. This Bill provides for solicitors to be eligible for appointment to the Circuit Court bench - though sadly not to the higher courts. Why are solicitors not considered suitable for appointment to the Superior Courts? The fact that this is the case today, is a relic of history and seems to be based essentially on the view that experience as an advocate in the higher courts is a prerequisite for appointment to the bench. The argument that only those who had engaged in advocacy in the Superior Courts should be appointed as judges in those courts has, been discredited by the appointment of solicitors in other jurisdictions who have proved to be excellent judges. I read with interest recently a profile in Proctor , the legal journal of the Queensland Law Society of Judge Robertson who is the only solicitor

jurisdiction since its inception in 1959. Judge Robertson stated in the article: "It is a myth that you have to go to the Bar to achieve the transition from the profession to the Bench. But it is important that people who are appointed have a very good grounding in the rules of evidence and the rules of practice." Experience has shown that the best advocates do not necessarily make the best judges and, correspondingly, that some of the most able judges in the past did not have distinguished careers as advocates. Surely, the person's knowledge of the law and his or her standing as a lawyer, independence of mind, administrative ability, judgment and decisiveness are amongst the qualities that are more desirable than experience as an advocate. Vital personal qualities are patience, courtesy and compassion. There is no logical reason why a solicitor should not be considered for judicial appointments to all courts including the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Patrick A. Glynn

to have been appointed to the District Court Bench in that

•

The present position in law in this

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