Fitzgerald rejects case for reform of European judge nomination process

The process of nominating Irish judges to the European courts does not need to be reformed, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has told TDs.

Ms Fitzgerald addressed the Dáil justice committee today as it begins pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2016.

Ms Fitzgerald’s Government colleague, Independent TD and Transport Minister Shane Ross, is widely seen to have strong-armed the Government into taking the legislation forward by threatening to block judicial appointments at a Cabinet level.

She has affirmed her support for measures demanded by Mr Ross, including a lay majority on the new judicial appointments commission.

But whereas Mr Ross has said that nominations to the EU courts should also be brought under the bill’s remit, Ms Fitzgerald disagrees.

Ms Fitzgerald told the committee today: “I am prepared to discuss this with the committee, however I believe the normal arrangements for such nominations work very well, have produced excellent representatives in the courts in question and are of course subject to a second tier of procedure in the European courts themselves.”