Few serious people believe the judiciary is rife with corruption or misconduct, but the absence of even the most basic rules and processes to deal with poor behaviour by judges, except for the nuclear option of impeachment by the Oireachtas, has itself been a cause of damage to the standing of the judicial branch.
It has meant that, when judges have behaved inappropriately, the public has had no means of complaining or holding them accountable. Judges themselves have at different times opposed proposals to fix this, and successive governments have shown little interest in doing so. Even though there was broad agreement for the past 20 years on the need to establish a Judicial Council, only now is that structure, which will oversee education and discipline, close to being fully operational.
The adoption by the judiciary last week of new conduct and ethics guidelines is an important step in that process. They lay down rather obvious principles around independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety and diligence, as well as equal treatment for those who appear before the courts. Under the new system, members of the public will be able to complain to a judicial complaints committee, which includes lay members.
Any hearings will take place in public, though unfortunately the committee has the power to decide on a private hearing in certain circumstances. Had any judge felt unable to sign up to what amount to minimum standards of behaviour, it would have been a serious problem; it is welcome, then, that all 167 judges endorsed the guidelines.
Surveys show strong public faith in the judiciary. The Judicial Council structures should help to maintain that trust. But they are not the final pieces in the reform jigsaw. This and future governments must ensure that their selection of judges is based less on personal relationships than it has been, particularly in the lower courts, and that the only factors that should bear on appointments are those that relate to an individual’s suitability for one of the most important functions in the public service.