Delay in the Appointment of Judges to the Court of Appeal
In July 2019, legislation was passed in the Dáil increasing the number of judges on the Court of Appeal from 10 to 16.
However, the judges have yet to be appointed, and this has caused the cases which have been brought forward, in anticipation of the new appointments, to be postponed.
Chief Justice Frank Clarke has commented on the delay, calling it “regrettable”. He said that it was “…most unfair to litigants who were given the reasonable expectation of an early hearing.”
The Department of Justice have released a statement acknowledging that “…the minister intends to bring a memo to Cabinet with proposed judicial nominees shortly.”
However, it is still unclear what has caused the delay. With the current waiting time for a hearing in the Court of Appeal being 20 months, the appointment of the new judiciary is welcomed sooner rather than later.