20 February 2022
Government underfunding of the judiciary is hampering access to justice in Ireland, according to a new report analysing the implementation of the Judicial Council Act 2019.
Ireland has the lowest number of judges per head in the EU. The State does not provide sufficient resources for the education and training courses that are needed to keep up with changes in the law, in Irish society, or best practice in ‘judgecraft’ internationally.
Additionally, since guidelines for the Oireachtas in cases where the Judicial Council recommends removal are non-existent, the report recommends they be produced immediately.
Co-author of the report Dr Laura Cahillane of University of Limerick said:
“At this stage it’s necessary that the Oireachtas decide on and publish a process for what to do when removal of a judge is recommended. An opportunity to do so was missed with the Judicial Council Act, but it can and should still be done now.”
New training for judges is underway. However, co-author Dr Rónán Kennedy of NUI Galway commented:
“The need for fully-resourced judicial training is clear, with many judges taking time off and self-funding training up until now. If Ireland is to have a world-class judicial system, we must properly resource and embed training for our judiciary.”
The report is published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the University of Limerick and NUI Galway, with funding from the Irish Research Council.
Doireann Ansbro, Head of Legal and Policy at ICCL, said:
“While it’s great to see the advances brought in by the Judicial Council Act, we need to be cautious that the practices which come in as a result are in line with international best practice. We would be concerned that the complaints process should be more transparent and provide real clarity for both the judiciary and complainants.”
The Judicial Council Act 2019 obliges the Judicial Council to provide training for judges. Ireland has dragged its heels on properly resourcing such training, which is bad news for access to justice. The Act also requires the establishment of a proper process for dealing with complaints against judges, which has been demanded for decades.
ENDS/
Find the full report here: http://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Towards-Best-Practice-Judicial-Council.pdf
Find a press briefing: http://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Towards-Best-Practice-ICCL-press-briefing-on-Judicial-Council-Act-2019.pdf
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For comment: Dr Rónán Kennedy (le gaeilge), Dr Laura Cahillane (le gaeilge) and Doireann Ansbro
For media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie