Courts and Court Officers Act, 1995

Submission of names to Minister.

16.—(1) A person who wishes to be considered for appointment to judicial office shall so inform the Board in writing and shall provide the Board with such information as it may require to enable it to consider the suitability of that person for judicial office, including information relating to education, professional qualifications, experience and character.

(2) Subject to section 17 of this Act, on a request made by the Minister, the Board shall—

(a) where a judicial office stands vacant, or

(b) before a vacancy in a judicial office arises,

submit to the Minister the name of each person who has informed the Board of his or her wish to be considered for appointment to that judicial office and the Board shall recommend to the Minister at least seven persons for appointment to that judicial office.

(3) The Board shall provide the Minister with particulars of the education, professional qualifications, experience and character of the persons whom it recommends under this section.

(4) Where fewer than seven persons inform the Board of their wish to be appointed to a judicial office or where the Board is unable to recommend to the Minister, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, at least seven persons, the Board shall submit to the Minister the name of each person who has informed the Board of his or her wish to be considered for appointment to judicial office and the Board shall recommend to the Minister for appointment to that office such of those persons as it considers suitable for appointment.

(5) Where more than one judicial office in the same court stands vacant, or in advance of more than one vacancy arising in the same court, at the request of the Minister, the Board shall submit to the Minister the name of each person who has informed the Board of his or her wish to be considered for appointment to judicial office and shall recommend to the Minister the names of at least seven persons in respect of each vacancy or such lesser number of names as the Minister shall specify following consultation with the Board.

(6) In advising the President in relation to the appointment of a person to a judicial office the Government shall firstly consider for appointment those persons whose names have been recommended to the Minister pursuant to this section.

(7) The Board shall not submit or recommend the name of a person to the Minister under this section unless the person satisfies the requirements of section 5 (2) (as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the Supreme Court or High Court), section 17 (2) (as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the Circuit Court) or section 29 (2) and (3) of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the District Court), as regards the proposed appointment, and the Board shall not recommend the name of a person to the Minister unless, in the opinion of the Board, the person—

(a) has displayed in his or her practice as a barrister or solicitor, as the case may be, a degree of competence and a degree of probity appropriate to and consistent with the appointment concerned,

(b) is suitable on grounds of character and temperament,

(c) is otherwise suitable, and

(d) complies with the requirements of section 19 of this Act.

(8) Notice of an appointment to judicial office shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil and the notice shall, if it be the case, include a statement that the name of the person was recommended by the Board to the Minister pursuant to this section.