Law lecturer springs to defence of judges

Dr Stephen Brittain, a law lecturer at the University of Limerick has sprung to the defence of Ireland’s judiciary against the recent comments of independent TD Shane Ross with a stinging rebuttal.

In a letter to the Irish Times, Dr Brittain writes: “Minister for Transport Shane Ross has described the system of judicial appointments by government as ‘an outlet for political patronage’ and has pledged to delay the appointment of new judges until an independent appointments body is established. Given that this will take some significant time, the Minister’s position is likely to exacerbate the already significant delays in our under-resourced court system.

“The Minister’s concerns regarding our system of judicial appointments are misplaced, for a number of reasons.

First, since judicial appointment almost always involves a significant reduction in income, it is curious to describe judges as beneficiaries of ‘patronage’.

“Second, although previous political affiliation is a factor in many judicial appointments, it is rarely the sole or decisive one.

“Third, it is fair to say that many of our most political judges have been among our best: names such as Hugh Kennedy, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, and Thomas O’Higgins, all great chief justices and important political figures, immediately spring to mind.

“Fourth, if judges were mere political hacks, as the Minister implies, and to take just two examples, how does he explain the fact that the late Supreme Court judge Adrian Hardiman (a Progressive Democrat) precipitated one of the most significant crises of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat era by striking down Ireland’s statutory rape law, or the fact that Fianna Fáil appointees, in the 1970s, struck down Ireland’s ban on contraception, when that was not a course which would have pleased those who appointed them?

“While our system of judicial appointments doesn’t necessarily work in theory, it has worked in practice.

“Ireland has been well served by her judges, the overwhelming majority of whom have been men and women of conspicuous integrity, dedication, and ability, who have acted with scrupulous independence in the discharge of their duties.

“There are more productive uses of the Minister’s time than exacerbating the already significant delays in the courts by engaging in political grandstanding on a non-issue.”