Judges are public servants and everyone coming into an Irish court 'should be treated equally and listened to', Donal O’Donnell, the country’s highest-ranking judge, in a rare interview
The first formal judicial misconduct complaints regime became operational the same month but, of 34 complaints received by the Judicial Council by the end of 2022, none were admissible.
He is not surprised about the first tranche of complaints being deemed inadmissible and disagrees that might suggest a problem with the process.An independent person decides on admissibility, their decision can be reviewed by a council body and this happens under a statutory regime which means decisions are judicially reviewable, he says.
It is “very important”, he stresses, that judges “hold ourselves to the standard that we believe is appropriate for judges” and the public understand complaints will be adjudicated and determined under a process that is “very clear, simple and cheap”. Ireland historically had the lowest number of judges per capita in Europe and the group concluded the 172 judges who were sitting at the time of its report was between 60 and 108 short of what was required over the next five years, he notes.That level of under-resourcing is replicated in every other part of the system, says O’Donnell.
‘It’s important that it be demonstrated the courts system is open to and treats everyone equally, no matter what they believe or don’t believe’O’Donnell is continuing the work of the Chief Justice’s access to justice working group, established by his predecessor Frank Clarke. It held a conference earlier this year concerning reform of the civil legal aid scheme, currently the focus of a Government-established review.
A “different and more difficult” question, more directly relevant to courts, is whether the litigation process itself can be made less costly. The type of steps include streamlining procedures, case management and encouraging or directing mediation or alternative dispute resolution methods before a case goes to court.
It was O’Donnell’s idea to have a new secular ceremony in the Four Courts to open the legal year next week. The important thing in the Irish system is the obligation to hold everyone equal before the law, he stresses.
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