PART 2

Qualification of Judges

4. —Section 5 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, a person shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court if the person is for the time being a practising barrister or a practising solicitor of not less than 12 years' standing who has practised as a barrister or a solicitor for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately before such appointment.

(b) A person who—

(i) is or was at any time during the period of 2 years immediately before the appointment concerned—

(I) a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Communities,

(II) a judge of the Court of First Instance attached to that Court,

(III) an Advocate-General of the Court of Justice of the European Communities,

(IV) a judge of the European Court of Human Rights established under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done at Rome on the 4th day of November, 1950,

(V) a judge of the International Court of Justice established under the Charter of the United Nations,

(VI) a judge of the International Criminal Court established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court done at Rome on the 17th day of July, 1998, upon the entry into force of that Statute,

(VII) a judge of an international tribunal within the meaning of section 2 of the International War Crimes Tribunals Act, 1998 ,

and

(ii) was a practising barrister or a practising solicitor before appointment to any of the offices referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph,

shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.

(c) A judge of the Circuit 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 Supreme Court or the High Court.”.

5. —Section 17 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (2):

“(2) A person who is for the time being a practising barrister or a practising solicitor of not less than 10 years' standing shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.

(2A) A judge of the District Court shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.

(2B) A county registrar who practised as a barrister or a solicitor for not less than 10 years before he or she was appointed to be a county registrar shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.”.

6. —Where a person has practised as a barrister and as a solicitor, periods of practice as a barrister and periods of practice as a solicitor may be reckoned to satisfy the minimum period of practice as a barrister, or as a solicitor, required by—

(a) subsection (2)(a) of section 5 (as amended by section 4 ) of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court,

(b) subsection (2) or (2B) of section 17 (as amended by section 5 ) of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court,

(c) section 14(1) (as amended by section 29 of the Act of 1995) of the Act of 1936 in the case of an appointment to act temporarily as a judge of the Circuit Court,

(d) subsection (2) or (3) of section 29 of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the District Court, or

(e) section 51(1) (as amended by section 48(8) of the Act of 1961) of the Act of 1936 in the case of an appointment to act temporarily as a judge of the District Court.

7. — Section 14 of the Law Reform Commission Act, 1975 , is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (2A) of this section, when a person who is a barrister or a solicitor is appointed” for “When a person who is a barrister is appointed”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “shall be deemed to be practice as a barrister or a solicitor, as may be appropriate” for “shall be deemed to be practice at the Bar”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Service as a Commissioner in a whole-time capacity or a whole-time officer of the Commission shall not be deemed to be practice as a barrister or a solicitor to satisfy the requirement in subsection (2)(a) of section 5 (as amended by section 4 of the Courts and Court Officers Act, 2002) of the Act of 1961 of a continuous period of not less than 2 years practice by a person as a barrister or a solicitor immediately before the appointment of the person as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.”.