Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The amendment proposes to "delete all words from and including “(1) Section 5” in line 6 down to and including line 17", which relates to a judge of the District Court, and to leave in subsection (8). This amendment, if accepted, would radically simplify the basis on which individual legal academics could be appointed to the superior courts. It would state:

Section 45A (inserted by section 33(4) of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2018) provides an additional basis for qualification for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal or the High Court.

What professor of law or legal academic would want to be appointed to be a District Court judge? There is a good deal of sense to the amendment, which asks that fundamental question. I support having a means of entry into the legal profession and hierarchy for intellectual jurists, which is what legal academics are. It would be based on their experience as an academic and the fact that before they became an academic they had some basic experience for a number of years as a practitioner in either branch of the legal profession. Surely we must want them to enrich the Judiciary by bringing in their academic approach and knowledge of jurisprudence.