Law Society proposals for radical reform of procedures for appointing judges

The Law Society has sent a 38 page submission to Justice Minister Alan Shatter recommending major changes designed to de-politicise the system for appointing judges.

It recommends a rigorous assessment, by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, of every candidate in accordance with published categories of ‘merit criteria’, with just three names per judicial position then sent to the Minister for Justice instead of the far greater number of names under the current system.

A summary of the Society’s nine main recommendations appears on pages 4 and 5 of the Society’s submission.

New Court of Appeal Vote

View a transcript of RTE Radio One’s interview with Ken Murphy, Director General, regarding the upcoming vote on a new Court of Appeal.