Judges’ pay cuts ‘about fairness’

GOVERNMENT proposals to cut judges’ pay are about “fundamental fairness” rather than being an attack on judicial independence, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said.

Bankruptcy and similar cases mean that judges are daily witnesses to the effects of the economic crisis and it is “essential that they themselves are seen to be subject” to the prevailing circumstances.

He was introducing legislation paving the way for the referendum on judges’ pay on October 27.