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Retired Chief Justice Susan Denham met with Supreme Court Justice Séamus Woulfe about her attendance at the Oireachtas golf dinner, The Irish Times has learned.
Judge Woulfe, a former attorney general, was accompanied by Michael Collins SC when he met with Ms. Denham in a boardroom Tuesday at the Green Street Court Service building.
Judge Woulfe retained Collins after Ms. Denham was asked to inform Chief Justice Frank Clarke of Woulfe’s decision to attend the dinner at Clifden on August 19.
Senior adviser Shane Murphy was also present at Wednesday’s meeting, which is understood to have lasted several hours.
It has not been confirmed when Ms Denham’s report will be delivered, but it is expected in the next few weeks and before the opening of the new legal period on October 5.
Attended by more than 80 people, the golf dinner went ahead despite Covid-19 public health guidelines imposing limits on indoor gatherings.
The then Minister of Agriculture, Dara Calleary, resigned as a result of his attendance. Phil Hogan resigned from his post as EU Trade Commissioner for the same reason.
Judge Denham’s review of Judge Woulfe’s attendance is expected to fall under international guidelines on judicial conduct.
In the absence of defined Irish rules on how judges should behave, given that the Judicial Council Act has not yet fully started, Ms Denham is expected to consider a United Nations code, known as the Bangalore principles, and rules in other countries with the common law system. .
You have been asked to consider relevant codes of practice or guidelines and to make recommendations on Mr. Justice Woulfe’s attendance at the dinner.
Your review is a non-statutory review because the parts of the Judicial Council Act that relate to judicial conduct have not yet begun. The judicial conduct committee, created in July, has 12 months to establish guidelines.
The Law defines judicial misconduct as behavior that deviates from recognized standards of conduct that require judges to uphold and exemplify judicial independence, integrity, and correctness, or conduct that discredits the administration of justice.
The Bangalore Principles, endorsed by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003, establish international guidance on judicial ethics. They say that a judge must avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety in all his activities and accept personal restraints as a subject of constant public scrutiny.
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