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GAZETTE
P R E S I D E N T ' S
M E S S A G E
MEDIWH
M
ARCH1995
Solicitor Judges
The Law Society Dinner was held on
6 April. Among the guests who
attended the dinner were prominent
members of the Oireachtas;
judiciary; diplomatic corps; public
service, and business and
professional organisations. This
annual dinner serves as an
opportunity to return hospitality to
those who have provided us with
same during the year.'More
importantly it serves as an
opportunity to engender good
relations with those people and
organisations who are important to
the solicitors' profession.
We were honoured this year to have
as our special guest speaker.
His
Honour Justice Michael Sachs
from
the High Court of England and Wales
who made history by being the first
solicitor in our neighbouring
jurisdiction to be appointed a High
Court judge. The motivation behind
inviting Judge Sachs was to highlight
the fact that in the UK solicitors are
eligible for appointments to the High
Court. He was made a High Court
Judge in 1993 due to legislation
passed two years previously to end
the Bar's monopoly of senior judicial
appointments.
The present position in law in this
country is that, except in the District
Court, solicitors are not eligible for
appointment to judicial office. In
1994, the Government announced
proposed changes in our judicial
system in the form of the Courts and
Court Officers Bill. This Bill
provides for solicitors to be eligible
for appointment to the Circuit Court
bench - though sadly not to the
higher courts.
Why are solicitors not considered
suitable for appointment to the
Superior Courts? The fact that this is
the case today, is a relic of history
and seems to be based essentially on
the view that experience as an
advocate in the higher courts is a
prerequisite for appointment to the
bench. The argument that only those
who had engaged in advocacy in the
Superior Courts should be appointed
as judges in those courts has, been
discredited by the appointment of
solicitors in other jurisdictions
who have proved to be excellent
judges.
I read with interest recently a profile
in
Proctor
, the legal journal of the
Queensland Law Society of
Judge
Robertson
who is the only solicitor
to have been appointed to the
District Court Bench in that
jurisdiction since its inception in
1959. Judge Robertson stated in the
article: "It is a myth that you have to
go to the Bar to achieve the
transition from the profession to the
Bench. But it is important that
people who are appointed have a
very good grounding in the rules
of evidence and the rules of
practice."
Experience has shown that the best
advocates do not necessarily make
the best judges and, correspondingly,
that some of the most able judges in
the past did not have distinguished
careers as advocates. Surely, the
person's knowledge of the law and
his or her standing as a lawyer,
independence of mind,
administrative ability, judgment and
decisiveness are amongst the
qualities that are more desirable than
experience as an advocate. Vital
personal qualities are patience,
courtesy and compassion.
There is no logical reason why a
solicitor should not be considered
for judicial appointments to all
courts including the High Court and
the Supreme Court.
Patrick A. Glynn
•
Doyle Court Reporters
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Áine O'Farrell
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