Judicial Appointments

Mr Justice Alexander Owens has been nominated for appointment to the Court of Appeal and barrister Deirdre Browne BL to the Circuit Court. Ministers agreed the nominations last week, having made eight other nominations the week before — the first since the introduction of the new Judicial Appo

The secretive way judges are appointed in England via an "old boys' network" could be at an end after an historic Court of Appeal ruling. Kate Thomas, a judge with 30 years’ experience in the legal profession, successfully challenged the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) over its use of &

Sean Gillane SC is to be appointed to the High Court and seven lawyers to the District Court in the first judicial appointments since the introduction of the new Judicial Appointments Commission.

An expansion of judicial numbers has reduced the number of court hearings cancelled due to a shortage of judicial resources, but the Courts Service is now facing a shortage of staff, according to a new report. The Courts Service this morning published its annual report for 2024, which sets out

The English courts are to hear a challenge to the judicial appointments process on the basis that it still involves "secret soundings" which act as a barrier to diversity on the bench. A member of the GMB trade union's dedicated branch for members of the judiciary is challenging the Judicial Appoint

Paul McLaughlin KC has been appointed as a judge of Northern Ireland's High Court. Mr Justice McLaughlin was sworn into office before Dame Siobhan Keegan, the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, on Friday.

The long-awaited new Judicial Appointments Commission has been formally established and will soon begin to advertise judicial vacancies. The first judicial vacancies to be filled under the new system will be advertised online "in the coming days and weeks", the Courts Service has said.

Temperament, patience and listening skills should be among factors taken into account in deciding whether to appoint a lawyer as a judge, a new report has recommended. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) yesterday published the new report on judicial selection procedures in Ireland, based o

There is no pressing need to change the number of judges on the Supreme Court, justice minister Helen McEntee has said. Independent TD Carol Nolan asked the minister why she had decided not to increase the number of judges, and also whether the number of judges should be reduced over time given the

Mr Justice Denis McDonald and former CJEU advocate-general Anthony Collins are to be appointed to the Court of Appeal and former Bar Council chairperson Sara Phelan SC is to join the High Court bench. The nominations, along with those of three new District Court judges, were agreed by ministers yest

The Law Society of Ireland has welcomed the government's commitment to appointing 20 additional judges. Helen McEntee, the justice minister, announced yesterday that she had secured support from her ministerial colleagues for legislation paving the way for the second phase of appointments recommende

Plans to appoint 20 additional judges on a phased basis have been approved by the government. The appointments represent the second phase of the appointment of 44 additional judges as recommended by the Judicial Planning Working Group in February 2023.

The Law Society of Ireland has expressed concern over the absence of practising solicitors and barristers on the new Judicial Appointments Commission. Justice minister Helen McEntee yesterday unveiled the membership of the Commission, which is to be established from 1 January 2025.

The long-awaited Judicial Appointments Commission is to be established from the beginning of 2025. In the biggest shake-up to the judicial appointments process in almost 30 years, only candidates recommended by the new Commission will be nominated by the government for appointment by the president.

Judge Suzanne Kingston and Judge Colm Mac Eochaidh have been formally reappointed to the General Court of the European Union for a further six-year term. The two Irish judges will serve an additional term from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2031.