The Oireachtas inquiry into Judge Brian Curtin's fitness to serve on the bench will be delayed for up to six months, following his decision to challenge its powers in court.
Judge Curtin's lawyers are to go to the High Court next week to challenge the constitutionality of the Oireachtas inquiry headed by the Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Denis O'Donovan.
Earlier this month the committee demanded that the judge, who was acquitted on charges of possessing child pornography earlier this year, should deliver his lap-top computer to them for inspection.
Last night Mr O'Donovan said he expected that the High Court would grant the judge's application for a judicial review of the committee's work, which could take place at the end of January.
However, the High Court's ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court by Judge Curtin, or by the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Government.
"I am disappointed that there will be a delay of some months after the judicial review. But I must support his right to seek a judicial review. However, I would hope that the matter would be dealt with as expeditiously as possible afterwards," Mr O'Donovan told The Irish Times.
The legal case is already being seen in some quarters as one of the biggest tests of the Oireachtas's powers ever to be held in the courts since the foundation of the State.
Last week the committee agreed to a request by Mr Curtin's lawyers to postpone an attempt to get access to his credit cards after the lawyers made it clear that they were going to mount a court challenge to the very existence of the committee.
The Curtin legal team will challenge the constitutional powers of the Houses of the Oireachtas to set up a sub-committee of the Oireachtas to investigate the fitness to serve of any member of the judiciary under Article 35.4.1 of the Constitution and Section 39 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924.
In addition, his lawyers, who include the former attorney general, Mr John Rogers SC, will question the validity of the 1997 compellability legislation under which the committee demanded access to Mr Curtin's computer and ordered possession of it by next Wednesday.
The Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Act, 1997, was amended last May when it was found that judges were specifically excluded under it from being required to appear before Oireachtas committees to account for their professional conduct.
The Oireachtas inquiry was set up after the Government passed a motion to remove the Tralee-based judge from office "for stated misbehaviour" following his acquittal.
His trial collapsed after it emerged that the warrant used to seize his computer from his home, on foot of an investigation into Internet purchases of child pornography, was out of date.
The judge was disqualified last week from driving for two years, fined €250 and had his licence endorsed after he admitted driving with almost three times the legal alcohol limit earlier this year.
Under its terms of reference, the Curtin inquiry committee will not be able to make findings to guide the rest of the Oireachtas. Instead, the full membership of the Dáil and Seanad will be expected to study carefully its final report before dealing with any motion from the Government to remove Judge Curtin from the bench.
