Delaying judiciary appointments until new legislation is passed will adversely affect the administration of justice in an effective and timely manner and is a matter for grave concern, according to the Council of The Bar of Ireland.
Whilst accepting that the manner by which judges are appointed in Ireland may need to be modified in order to ensure that it is as effective as it can be, the Council of The Bar of Ireland stated that there is no evidence to suggest that judges appointed under the current system do not fulfill the declaration required to be made under the Constitution.
Chairman of the Council of The Bar of Ireland Paul McGarry said; “Ireland has a reputation as an open and transparent State where citizens and business operate in the knowledge that disputes may be resolved effectively.
There is already significant pressure on the Irish judicial system due to shortages of resources and support. In 2014, Ireland had the lowest number of judges of 47 countries examined by the European Commission at 3 per 100,000 inhabitants, as opposed (for example) to 10 per 100,000 in France or 24.3 per 100,000 in Germany.
“The new Court of Appeal already has had to deal with an enormous backlog, together with an increase in new appeals. The delay in an ordinary appeal being heard before that Court is approximately 18 months, and increasing all the time. Manifestly, the Court of Appeal requires a significant number of additional judges to meet its obligation,”
“There are currently several statutory vacancies on the District Court, three on the Circuit Court, and one on the Supreme Court. In the coming months more judges will retire. The suggestion that these positions will not be filled until some indeterminate point in the future raises the possibility that one arm of the State might appear to be reducing the capacity of another. There are legitimate concerns that such a course would not respect the constitutional right of access to the Courts and the obligation to ensure that justice is administered speedily and efficiently. “
The Council of The Bar of Ireland accepts that it is legitimate to seek to improve the system for judicial appointments, but it states that there is no necessary connection between that objective and the need to ensure that statutory judicial positions continue to be filled pending the legislation designed to achieve that objective.