Judicial Appointments

Judge Patricia Smyth has been appointed as presiding County Court judge and Recorder of Belfast. The five-year appointment by the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Dame Siobhan Keegan, will take effect from Monday.

Mr Justice David Barniville has been nominated by ministers for appointment as president of the High Court. Currently an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Barniville will succeed Ms Justice Mary Irvine, who is taking early retirement from the middle of July.

Solicitors Anne Marshall and Alana McSorley have been appointed as district judges in Northern Ireland. The two women were sworn into office yesterday before Dame Siobhan Keegan, the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

Government plans to exclude representatives of the legal professions from the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission will have "an extraordinary negative impact", the Law Society of Ireland has said. Responding to the recent publication of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, Law Society pr

A non-statutory advisory committee will be established to help identify candidates for the post of president of the High Court, the government has announced. Ms Justice Mary Irvine, who has served in the role since 2020, is due to retire in July 2022. The 65-year-old judge told colleagues of her dec

On 31 March, justice minister Helen McEntee announced the introduction of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022, which aims to overhaul the current system for judicial appointments in Ireland. The legislative proposals arrived to much fanfare from the Department of Justice, with the bill be

Mr Justice Senan Allen has been nominated by ministers for appointment as an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal. A judge on the High Court since 2018, Mr Justice Allen will fill the vacancy arising from the appointment of Mr Justice Brian Murray to the Supreme Court in February.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine, the president of the High Court, will take early retirement later this year, according to reports. The 65-year-old judge is said to have told colleagues of her decision at a private meeting in the Four Courts on Friday morning.

Sitting judges seeking promotion to a higher court will have to undergo an interview under the government's proposed reform of the judicial appointments process. The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022, which was published today, will introduce the most significant reforms to the judicial app

Legislation to introduce the most significant reforms to the judicial appointments process in 25 years will be published within weeks and enacted by the end of September, the government has announced. The enactment of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2020 is one of 159 actions to be deliver

Up to 20 new High Court judges are still required to deal with Covid backlogs, the president of the High Court has said. During a preliminary hearing yesterday, Mrs Justice Mary Irvine said the court "is short about 18 or 20 judges at the moment and we have arrears across all divisions", the Irish I

Mr Justice Brian Murray has been nominated by ministers for appointment to the Supreme Court. A judge of the Court of Appeal since November 2019, his appointment would fill the long-standing vacancy arising from the retirement of Mr Justice Liam McKechnie in April 2019.

Kerida Naidoo SC has been nominated for appointment as an ordinary judge of the High Court. His appointment will increase the size of the bench, having been appointed to fill a vacancy created under section 8 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021, which allows the statutory complement

Sitting judges seeking promotion will have to complete special training to be considered eligible as part of proposed reforms to the judicial appointments process. Justice minister Helen McEntee is expected to publish her proposals for long-awaited reform of the judicial appointments process early t

Irish legal academic Professor Suzanne Kingston SC has been appointed as a judge of the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Professor Kingston has been a member of faculty at UCD Sutherland School of Law since 2007. Since 2015, she has led a major European Research Co