A committee established to consider judicial conduct and ethics in the wake of the Philip Sheedy affair has recommended that a judicial council should be established on a statutory basis. Judicial behaviour would be policed by a committee on judicial conduct and ethics and an inquiry panel would investigate serious complaints. It is proposed that the panel would consist of two judges and one lay person.
The Law Society says that a representative of the solicitors profession should have been included. The Sheedy affair highlighted the absence of methods of dealing with misbehaving judges - only one sanction impeachment was available. The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Ronan Keane, today unveiled the new recommendations to deal with misconduct. New legislation would be required to put the proposed judicial council and its committees in place. That is now a matter for the Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue.
The main recommendation is the re-establishment of a committee on judicial conduct and ethics. Complaints could be made by any member of the public and those requiring further investigation would go before a three person panel of inquiry. The panel would consist of two judges and a lay person appointed by the Attorney General. It is not proposed to include representatives of the legal profession, a situation that solicitors are not happy with.
If an allegation of misconduct is established the committee could recommend a public or a private reprimand or that a judge should attend counselling or treatment or be removed from court work for a specified period. In the case of serious misconduct they can recommend that the executive take steps to remove the judge.
