Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House. I want to make a number of comments on judicial appointments with reference to the programme for Government.I welcome the Minister's comments on the judicial council. There is no mention of the judicial council in the programme for Government, only three paragraphs about judicial appointments.

Articles 34 and 37 of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland regulate the courts and outline generally how judges are to be appointed. The President of Ireland appoints judges on the advice of the Government. In practice, the decision to appoint a person to the Judiciary is made by the Minister for Justice and Equality. He or she is under no legal obligation to accept a person recommended by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, JAAB. These are facts. The JAAB is a statutory body. It has no role in appointing a person who is already a judge to a judicial appointment, such as a higher court than the one in which he or she sits. This critical point is somewhat lost. The JAAB creates a list of at least seven people whom it recommends for appointment. The Government is under no obligation to accept any of these recommendations. In practice, there is no review of a decision regarding the appointment of a judge.

The JAAB does not have the power to rank the names on the list in order of preference or merit. Neither is the Government obliged to select any one of these recommended by the JAAB. The JAAB has no role in the appointment to a judicial office of a person who is already a judge. If a judge of the Circuit Court is to be appointed to the bench of the High Court, no provisions of section 16 of the 1995 Act apply.

The programme for Government sets out three simple paragraphs regarding political judicial appointments. How can we progress the matter? There is no doubt that reform is needed in this area. It is important to set out the facts of where we are. I want to hear how we will change from the status quoto the Tánaiste's proposals.