The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

JULY 1994

PUBLICATION DATE

8 AUGUST 1994

5. Authority

• the ability to command the respect

of court users and to maintain fair-

minded discipline in the court and

chambers without appearing

pompous, arrogant or overbearing;

• the ability to promote expeditious

despatch of business preventing

unnecessary prolixity, repetition

and irrelevance whilst ensuring that

all participants are enabled to

present their case or their evidence

as fully and fairly as possible.

Personal Qualities

Successful candidates will possess the

following personal qualities:

1. Integrity

• they will have a history of honesty,

discretion and plain-dealing with

professional colleagues, clients and

the courts;

• they will possess independence of

mind and moral courage;

• they will have generated the trust,

confidence and respect of others.

Fairness

• they will be open-minded and

objective, having the ability to

recognise any personal prejudices

and to set them aside.

• they will deal impartially with all

matters which come before them

and will seek to ensure that all who

appear before them have an

opportunity for their case to be

clearly presented and that it is then

considered as fully and

dispassionately as possible.

3. Understanding of People and Society

• they will have knowledge and

understanding of, and respect for,

people from all social backgrounds.

They will be sensitive to the

influence of different ethnic and

cultural backgrounds on the

attitudes and behaviour of people

whom they encounter in the course

of their work.

4. Sound Treatment

• they will be firm and decisive while

remaining patient, tolerant, good-

humoured and even-tempered.

5. Courtesy and Humanity

• they will be courteous and

considerate to all court users and

court staff;

• they will have and convey under-

standing of, and sympathy for, the

needs and concerns of court users

as appropriate and be sensitive and

humane.

6. Commitment

• they will be committed to public

service and to the proper and

efficient administration of justice,

which they will pursue conscienti-

ously, with energy and diligence.

Conclusion

The new procedure for making judicial

appointments in the United Kingdom

has been criticised on the basis that the

procedure still leaves much of the

process shrouded in mystery. But let us

be honest: the procedure is, to adopt a

cliche, "light years" ahead of the

procedure in this jurisdiction.

Democratic self-government demands

that the Executive in Ireland adopts a

more open and transparent approach.

•

A W o r d i n Y o u r E a r -

M ' L u d

The Editor

Gazette

Dear Editor,

Many thanks for Dr. Hall's entertaining

article "The Supreme Court Deflates

Legal Egos" which appeared in the

April edition of the

Gazette.

I was somewhat surprised to read that

the Justices failure to ask questions ". .

should not be interpreted as a sign of

disinterest. . .".

Surely it is a

sine qua non

that all

judges, arbitrators and referees be

disinterested.

Perhaps your readers will be

uninterested in the above observation.

Yours etc,

Patrick J. DAlton, B.C.L.,

Solicitor,

119, O'Connell Street,

Limerick.

•

Annual Review of

Irish Law 1992

R A Y M O N D BYRNE & W I L L I AM B I N C HY

The sixth v o l ume in this w i d e ly

acclaimed series will be published on

8 August 1994.

Th is

v o l u me

p r o v i d es

authoritative picture of each and

e v e ry legal nook a nd c r a n ny for

the year 1992.

CASES

Full coverage of all the decision of the

Supreme Court, High Court and Court

of C r i m i n al A p p e a l

i n c l u d i ng

un r e p o r t ed j ud gme n t s; significant

C i r c u it C o u rt d e c i s i o ns a r e a l so

included.

STATUTES

Every Act of the Oireachtas for the

y e ar is outlined. Wh e r e r e l e v a n t,

detailed discussion is p r o v i d ed to

explain the background and pu r po se

of an A c t. I m p o r t a nt S t a t u t o ry

Instruments are also noted.

LAW REFORM

It a l so c o n t a i ns d i s c u s s i on on

p r o p o s a ls for c h a n ge in the l aw

a d v a n c e d by t he L a w

R e f o rm

Commission.

ISSN 0791-1084; ISBN 1-85800-001-7 #85.00.

THE ROUND HALL PRESS

Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Tel: Int+353-1-289 2922. Fax: 289 3072

217