Minister denies claim judiciary is being undermined

The Minister for Justice has strongly denied claims made by a High Court judge that his Government is attempting to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

In a speech to up to 150 business leaders, Mr Justice Peter Kelly warned the independence of the Irish judiciary was viewed positively by foreign investors when seeking to do business in Ireland and that efforts to weaken this separation of powers would pose a risk for the economy.

However, in response, Minister Alan Shatter accused him of potentially undermining international business confidence in the State by making the speech.

“At a time when we are still fighting to restore our economic sovereignty and bring about sustainable economic recovery, we all have a duty when speaking to ensure that what we say has no unintended consequences and does not undermine international business confidence in the State. No one should have any doubt that the rule of law applies fully in this State and no question mark hangs over the independence of our judiciary or court system,” he said.

Mr Shatter strongly denied that civil servants were being made members of the judiciary and said all applications to appoint new specialist judges to deal with insolvency matters in the Circuit Court will go before the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.

“County Registrars are not civil servants. They are independent office holders appointed by successive governments, all of whom were practising solicitors or barristers, who would, based on their longevity in legal practice, be eligible in their own right for appointment to the judiciary,” he said. “In their capacity as County Registrars, they have for some years been carrying out limited judicial functions dealing with a variety of matters under statute at Circuit Court level. It maybe that this issue has arisen because solicitors and barristers are not eligible for such appointment until after the first cohort of specialist judges have been appointed.”

It was reported in the Sunday Business Post that, in the speech, Mr Justice Peter Kelly accused this government of attempting to demolish “brick by brick” the independence of the judiciary.

Speaking at a PriceWaterhouseCooper dinner, he referred to cuts to judicial pay and pensions and the introduction of a new court of appeal and family courts.