Judges ‘called for Government to cover legal costs in misconduct probes’

The Chief Justice of Ireland, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, unsuccessfully lobbied the Government to pay legal costs for judges investigated for misconduct, The Irish Times reports.

The proposal, contained in a 2015 memo seen by the newspaper, said judges coming before the Government’s proposed judicial conduct committee should be entitled to legal representation paid by the Department of Justice.

However, the proposal was not incorporated into the Judicial Council Bill as introduced to the Dáil this year.

A source in the Department of Justice told the paper that there was a reluctance to grant “legal aid for judges” because the proposed committee would have limited powers of punishment.

For example, the committee will not be able to remove a judge from office, a power reserved to the Oireachtas by the Constitution.