Greece or Italy.

By Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor
Tuesday September 25 2012
APPOINTMENTS to the Supreme Court are "purely political", one of the country's most senior judges has claimed.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly, also said the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB), designed to take the filling of judicial posts out of the political arena, "doesn't really work".

The Irish Independent revealed last year that at least a third of the country's judges had personal or political links to political parties before being appointed to the bench.

The JAAB was introduced in 1995 to take politics out of the judicial appointments process, but the Cabinet still picks appointments from a list supplied by the JAAB, whose recommendations the Government may legally ignore.

In a wide-ranging interview with 'The Parchment', the magazine of the Dublin Solicitor's Bar Association (DSBA), Mr Justice Kelly -- head of the Commercial Court -- said there should be an independent body to appoint judges.

The tough-talking judge, who has ruled out ever going to the Supreme Court, also claimed some people who would make excellent judges were "passed over" in favour of others who were not so well qualified.

Mr Justice Kelly, the former 'children's champion' who in October 2000 warned three government ministers they could be held in contempt of court unless they found a suitable secure unit for a troubled teenager, told 'The Parchment' he didn't find the life of a Supreme Court judge in the slightest bit attractive.

"It's purely political in any event, the appointments to that court, and I never had any politics," said Mr Justice Kelly, adding that he accepted an invitation to the bench by the then Attorney General in 1996 when the JAAB first became operational.

"I always thought the ideal age for the bench was 50. I was 46 then, so I was some years short of that. On the other hand, in the absence of political involvement, was I ever going to get the opportunity again?"

A former civil servant, Mr Justice Kelly defended his colleagues from criticism about their pay and pensions and said many judges were experiencing "real suffering" during the recession and some could not afford to take a voluntary pay cut in lieu of the mandatory pension levy imposed on all public sector workers three years ago.

Mr Justice Kelly, head of the new Association of Judges of Ireland (AJI), revealed that judges were hugely "demoralised" in the wake of the furore over their exemption from the mandatory pension levy introduced three years ago -- leading to the formation of the AJI.

The initial slow uptake by judges of a voluntary pay cut led to calls for, and the eventual holding of, a referendum to allow judges' pay to be cut.

Previously, judges pay could not be reduced during their term of office, but the poll to cut judges' pay was overwhelmingly passed by the electorate last year.

Debacle

Mr Justice Kelly (62) defended the role of judges in the pay debacle, saying there was too much emphasis on the 15pc of judges who did not pay a pension levy compared to the 85pc who did.

"To get 85pc of people to do anything on a voluntary basis is not easy," he said. "To get 85pc to sign up when there was real suffering for some was even harder. I feel that very little recognition was given to that (85pc) and too much focus was on the 15pc."

Mr Justice Kelly, who said that he had presided over heart-rending cases and "seen lives ruined as a result of enormous borrowings" said that the 15pc of judges who did not take a voluntary pay cut consisted of some people who wouldn't pay it and some who couldn't pay it.

Last week the Irish Independent revealed several senior judges are among those who lost at least €250,000 each in a massive investment company collapse.

A prominent High Court judge and at least two of his colleagues on the bench are confirmed to have lost money in an investment company which -- unknown to them -- was being run like an elaborate pyramid or Ponzi scheme.

The fallout from the collapse of investment firm Custom House Capital (CHC) is sending shockwaves through Ireland's elite.

Many members of the legal profession invested in property syndicates and are suffering heavy losses on their investments.

- Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor

By Ray Managh and Tom Brady
Thursday September 27 2012
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RANK and file gardai want the right to lobby their TDs to prevent the closure of garda stations by their commissioner.

They claim that they enjoy the right of every other citizen to communicate with and make representations to their TDs or councillors.

But a directive has been sent to them on behalf of Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan warning that they should not attempt to use influence concerning closures or any perceived closures of stations.

The headquarters directive is now being challenged in the High Court by the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

The court was told that station closures directly affect the conditions of members and was an issue on which the GRA was entitled to make representations.

The directive was sent out in July by the assistant commissioner in charge of human resources, Fintan Fanning, and a response was sent by association general secretary PJ Stone, setting out their concerns about the nature and scope of the directive and calling for its withdrawal.

Garda management will argue that the directive does not deal with a garda's legal or statutory rights to make representations to a Dail deputy or councillor, but that in this case the representations would challenge their own commissioner's prerogative to shut down stations.

The Government has already shut down 39 out of the 703 garda stations in the State. This decision was based on advice given to Justice Minister Alan Shatter by Commissioner Callinan, whose duty is to determine whether more stations should be selected for closure.

A second list of stations is expected to be submitted by Commissioner Callinan to the minister in late autumn.

John Rogers, for the GRA told the court that he was seeking leave to judicially review the commissioner's directive.

Authority

Mr Rogers said the directive was telling members not to communicate with any TD to lobby or influence any future decision of the commissioner without his express authority in the matter.

He told Mr Justice Sean Ryan the directive was aimed at stopping every garda from even approaching his or her representative association about making any representation.

The GRA had written to the commissioner objecting to the directive but had not received any substantive reply, receiving only a holding letter.

It was the case that members of the gardai enjoyed the right of every other citizen to communicate with and make representations to his or her TD or councillor, he said.

Mr Justice Ryan granted the GRA leave to legally challenge the directive on the grounds its members were entitled to be represented in all matters affecting their welfare and efficiency by the GRA and had the right to communicate with the GRA.

The issue will be heard again on November 27.

- Ray Managh and Tom Brady

Italy's economy is comparible to Spain's, if not larger.