Judge hits out over failure to appoint more judges

The president of the Circuit Court, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, said yesterday that if the Government was not prepared to give him judges he was “not going to obey their legislative strictures”.

In one of the toughest judicial criticisms to date of the Government’s refusal to appoint new judges, he said he was already three judges short of the court’s quota and, due to new developments, he would be five short by the beginning of the new legal term in January.

Judge Groarke said that, in the new year, he had to provide a judge for sittings of the Special Criminal Court and another judge was due to take sick leave which would leave him five down.

He said if the Government was not prepared to give him judges, “I just can’t obey their legislative strictures”.

Judge Groarke was referring to a legal directive under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 which specifically states: “The court shall not exercise any power it has of postponing the hearing of an application for interim relief except where it is satisfied that special circumstances exist which justify it in doing so.”

Judge Groarke, sitting in the Circuit Civil Court, had been asked to set a specific date for the hearing of a claim under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, known as the Whistleblowers Act, by the principal of St Andrew’s College Junior School, Jacquie Campbell, seeking reinstatement to the job from which she claims she was unfairly dismissed last month.

The college denies she was sacked unfairly and Martin Hayden, counsel for Dr Campbell, said the dispute would take two days for a full hearing and that, under the act, the court did not have a jurisdiction to adjourn the hearing.

Yesterday’s planned hearing had initially been listed before Judge Jacqueline Linnane, who said there had been six new sworn affidavits placed in the court file and she believed it would take more than the suggested two days for the hearing.

She directed the matter be mentioned to the president.

Tom Mallon, for the college, said he felt it could be dealt with in two days.

Judge Groarke said counsel could forget about the directive in the act that a case could not be adjourned.

“How can I do the work the Government expects me to do when they won’t give me the judges I need?” he said.

Following an adjournment, the president told the parties he would try his very best to deal with it. He would seek to have the case heard in the second week of December but could not guarantee which court it would be heard in or by what judge.