Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2023

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Amendment of Act of 1961

63. The Act of 1961 is amended—

(a) in section 2, by the insertion of the following definition in subsection (1):

“‘the Act of 2015’ means the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 ;”,

(b) in section 5—

(i) in subsection (2), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):

“(d) A judge of the District Court who has served as such a judge for a period of not less than 2 years shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the High Court.”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (7):

“(8) Section 45A provides an additional basis for qualification for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal or the High Court.

(9) In this section, ‘practising barrister’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2015.”,

(c) in section 17, by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (5):

“(6) Section 45A provides an additional basis for qualification for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.

(7) In this section, ‘practising barrister’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2015.”,

(d) in section 29, by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(5) Section 45A provides an additional basis for qualification for appointment as a judge of the District Court.

(6) In this section, ‘practising barrister’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2015.”,

(e) by the insertion of the following section after section 45:

“Qualification of certain legal academics for appointment and for nomination for appointment or election to judicial office

45A. (1) A person shall be qualified for appointment and for nomination for appointment or election to judicial office (within the meaning of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2023) where he or she—

(a) is for the time being—

(i) a legal academic of not less than 12 years’ standing who has been employed as such for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately before such appointment, or

(ii) subject to subsection (4), the head of a faculty who within the period of 12 months prior to becoming the head of that faculty was either—

(I) a legal academic of not less than 12 years’ standing (2 of which years shall have been continuous), or

(II) the head of another faculty of not less than 4 years’ standing (2 of which years shall have been continuous),

(b) is a qualified barrister (within the meaning of the Act of 2015) or a solicitor who has not been struck off the roll of solicitors (within the meaning of the Act of 2015), and

(c) has practised as a barrister or solicitor for a continuous period of at least 4 years.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is a legal academic where he or she is a permanent member of the academic staff of an educational establishment who—

(a) teaches one or more subjects in the field of law, or

(b) carries out, or supervises the carrying out, of research in one or more such subjects,

whether or not in conjunction with the carrying on by him or her of administrative duties relevant to that teaching, research or supervision.

(3) In computing, for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), the period of time that a person is required to have been a legal academic—

(a) a period of time, other than immediately before such appointment, served by a person as head of a faculty shall be deemed to be a period of time served by him or her as a legal academic, and

(b) a period of time spent by a person successively in employment as a legal academic in 2 or more educational establishments shall be aggregated.

(4) A reference to a person being, or having been the head of a faculty (including the reference to having been the head of another faculty) shall be construed as a reference to being, or having been, in an educational establishment, the dean, director or other overall head (by whatever name called) of a department, school or other faculty where the responsibilities of that person include the carrying on of the activities referred to in subsection (2).

(5) In this section—

‘educational establishment’ means—

(a) a university to which the Universities Act 1997 applies,

(b) a technological university (within the meaning of the Technological Universities Act 2018 ),

(c) the Honorable Society of King’s Inns,

(d) the Law Society of Ireland, or

(e) an establishment, equivalent to one referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d), in a place outside the State.”,

and

(f) in the Sixth Schedule—

(i) in paragraph 2, by the insertion of the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (4):

“(5) A person who is to be appointed, or who is appointed, a district judge who wishes to express an interest in being assigned by the Government under subparagraph (1), (2) or (4), or in being transferred by the Minister under subparagraph (3), as the case may be, to a particular district, may forward an expression of such interest to the President of the District Court.

(6) The President of the District Court shall forward any expression of interest received by him or her under subparagraph (5) to the Government or the Minister as appropriate.

(7) An expression of interest referred to in subparagraph (5) shall not be forwarded by the person expressing the interest, or by any person on his or her behalf, to any person other than the President of the District Court.”,

and

(ii) in paragraph 3, by the insertion of the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (5):

“(6) A district judge who wishes to express an interest in a temporary assignment under any of the preceding subparagraphs to a particular district may forward an expression of such interest to the President of the District Court.

(7) An expression of interest referred to in subparagraph (6) shall not be forwarded by the district judge concerned, or by any person on his or her behalf, to any person other than the President of the District Court.”.