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Ireland Member State Contribution European Commission Annual Rule of Law Report 2020

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Ireland Member State Contribution European Commission Annual Rule of Law Report 2020 Ireland Member State Contribution European Commission Annual Rule of Law Report 2020 8 May 2020 Contents 1. Appointment and selection of judges and prosecutors ............................................................... 3 2. Irremovability of judges, including transfers of judges and dismissal ......................................... 4 3. Promotion of judges and prosecutors ........................................................................................ 4 4. Allocation of cases in courts ...................................................................................................... 4 5. Independence (including composition and nomination of its members), and powers of the body tasked with safeguarding the independence of the judiciary (e.g. Council for the Judiciary) ........... 5 6. Accountability of judges and prosecutors, including disciplinary regime and ethical rules. .......... 6 7. Remuneration/bonuses for judges and prosecutors ................................................................... 7 8. Independence/autonomy of the prosecution service .................................................................. 7 9. Independence of the Bar (chamber/association of lawyers) ....................................................... 8 10. Significant developments capable of affecting the perception that the general public has of the independence of the judiciary ....................................................................................................... 9 11. Other - please specify ............................................................................................................. 9 12. Accessibility of courts (e.g. court fees, legal aid) .................................................................... 10 13. Resources of the judiciary (human/financial) ......................................................................... 12 14. Use of assessment tools and standards (e.g. ICT systems for case management, court statistics, monitoring, evaluation, surveys among court users or legal professionals) .................................. 13 15. Other - please specify ........................................................................................................... 14 16. Length of proceedings .......................................................................................................... 14 17. Enforcement of judgements .................................................................................................. 15 18. Other - please specify ........................................................................................................... 15 19. List of relevant authorities (e.g. national agencies, bodies) in charge of prevention detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption. Where possible, please indicate the resources allocated to these (the human, financial, legal, and practical resources as relevant). ................... 15 20. Integrity framework: asset disclosure rules, lobbying, revolving doors and general transparency of public decision-making (including public access to information) ......................... 17 21. Rules on preventing conflict of interests in the public sector .................................................. 18 22. Measures in place to ensure Whistle-blower protection and encourage reporting of corruption .................................................................................................................................................. 19 23. List the sectors with high-risks of corruption in your Member State and list the relevant measures taken/envisaged for preventing corruption in these sectors. (e.g. public procurement, healthcare, other). ..................................................................................................................... 21 24. Any other relevant measures to prevent corruption in public and private sector ..................... 21 25. Criminalisation of corruption and related offences, ............................................................... 22 26. Overview of application of sanctions (criminal and non-criminal) for corruption offences (including for legal persons) ....................................................................................................... 22 Page 1 of 35 27. Potential obstacles to investigation and prosecution of high-level and complex corruption cases(e.g. political immunity regulation) .................................................................................... 22 28. Independence, enforcement powers and adequacy of resources of media authorities and bodies ........................................................................................................................................ 23 29. Conditions and procedures for the appointment and dismissal of the head / members of the collegiate body of media authorities and bodies ......................................................................... 24 30. The transparent allocation of state advertising (including any rules regulating the matter) .... 25 31. Public information campaigns on rule of law issues (e.g. on judges and prosecutors, journalists, civil society) ............................................................................................................................... 25 32. Rules governing transparency of media ownership ................................................................ 26 33. Rules and practices guaranteeing journalist's independence and safety and protecting journalistic and other media activity from interference by state authorities ................................. 26 34. Law enforcement capacity to ensure journalists' safety and to investigate attacks on journalists .................................................................................................................................................. 27 35. Access to information and public documents ......................................................................... 28 36. Other - please specify ........................................................................................................... 29 37. Stakeholders'/public consultations (particularly consultation of judiciary on judicial reforms), transparency of the legislative process, rules and use of fast-track procedures and emergency procedures (for example, the percentage of decisions adopted through emergency/urgent procedure compared to the total number of adopted decisions). ................................................. 29 38. Regime for constitutional review of laws ............................................................................... 30 39. independence, capacity and powers of national human rights institutions, ombudsman institutions and equality bodies .................................................................................................. 31 40. modalities of publication of administrative decisions and scope of judicial review .................. 33 41. Implementation by the public administration and State institutions of final court decisions ... 33 42. Measures regarding the framework for civil society organisations ......................................... 34 43. Other - please specify ........................................................................................................... 34 Page 2 of 35 I. Justice System A. Independence 1. Appointment and selection of judges and prosecutors Judges In accordance with articles 13.9 and 35.1 of the Irish Constitution, judicial appointments are made by the President acting on the advice of the Government. The appointment and selection of judges is covered in Part IV of the Court and Court Officers Act, 1995. The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB) is the body tasked with selection of suitable candidates for appointment. The JAAB is made up of Court Presidents from all jurisdictions, the Attorney General, a representative from both the Law Society and the Bar Council, and three lay members. Prosecutors The Director is appointed by Government following a process prescribed in the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974.The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is a civil servant in the civil service of the State who is appointed by the government from a selection of candidates recommended to the government by a statutory committee, consisting of the Chief Justice, the Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, the President of the Law Society, the Secretary to the Government and the Director General of the Office of the Attorney General. Tenure is a matter to be determined by the government on appointment, the current office holder being on a 10-year non-renewable term. All other prosecutors, although not civil servants, are appointed to the office under the rules applying to civil servants on permanent contract subject to an upper retirement age. State solicitors are currently appointed by the director, on the basis of a ten-year, renewable, contract for services. Authority to appoint prosecutors rests with the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 as amended by the Civil Service Regulation (Amendment Act 2005). The Director is responsible for the appointment and promotion of prosecutors, however, the office is assisted by the Public Appointments Service to ensure independence and probity in the recruitment process. Recruitment is carried out in accordance with the Codes of Practice established by the Commission for Public Service Appointments. The
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