2014 Council of Europe reforms for judicial appointments in Ireland ignored

Chief Justice Frank Clarke and  Justice Seamus Woulfe. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Amid the ongoing saga of Seamus Woulfe's attendance at the Oireachtas golf society dinner in Co Galway and the subsequent fallout of the Denham review, the recent scrutiny of his appointment to the Supreme Court has drawn closer attention to Ireland's process of nominating judges to the bench. 

In 2014, the Council of Europe made a recommendation on judicial appointments along with other suggestions on political ethics which Ireland has not implemented.