Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reject entirely the inference in the Deputy's question. Under the Constitution, judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Government. Such appointments are dealt with by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which was established pursuant to the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995. Under section 16 of the Act, where a judicial office stands vacant or before a vacancy in a judicial office arises, the advisory board submits to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the names of the persons recommended for appointment. I then bring the names to the Government which decides the nomination. This system has operated under successive Governments since 1995 and our independent Judiciary has served the country extremely well.

With a view to ensuring the most up-to-date practice, particularly by reference to other jurisdictions, I have asked my officials to conduct an examination of the current procedure. The review is ongoing and I will consider the matter further on completion. Any proposal to revise the current system of judicial appointments or amend the existing legislation would be a matter for consideration by the Government.

The Deputy’s question is based on a presumption that no lawyer who engages in democratic politics should ever be appointed to the Judiciary, that any such engagement should render an individual ineligible for judicial appointment, and that such engagement in some way permanently contaminates his or her capacity to act with judicial independence in cases that come before the courts. It is a tradition in constitutional democracies all over the world that practising lawyers make a substantial contribution to politics and the development of legislative reform and I am sure the Deputy’s party, in its parliamentary work, is assisted by members of the legal profession with a variety of expertise.

By contrast with constitutional democracies, lawyers who favour democratic politics and propose legislative reform are usually excluded from judicial appointments in totalitarian dictatorships. It is clear from the conduct of the Judiciary since the foundation of the State that members of the Judiciary, at all levels within the courts system, have acted with independence and that no political bias, in the sense of there being a party political bias, is discernible in decisions made and judgments delivered. The acknowledgment by the Deputy that two thirds of those appointed to the Judiciary do not have a personal or political connection to political parties is, of itself, confirmation that having such connections is not required for judicial appointment and that the public should have full confidence in the independence of the Judiciary at all levels within the courts structure.

See this speech in context