Complaints against 111 judges last year, none found to be admissible

Gordon Deegan

111 judges were subject of complaints last year to the Judicial Council, but not one complaint was found to be admissible.

That is according to the 2024 Report of the Judicial Conduct Committee, which shows that the 296 complaints received last year represent a 26 per cent increase on the 216 complaints received in 2023.

The Judicial Conduct Committee report - contained in the 2024 Annual Report for the Judicial Council - shows that one individual made 28 separate complaints against the judiciary with another individual lodging 15 separate complaints.

However, the report shows that 237 were determined to be inadmissible and not one complaint was determined to be admissible.

Another 30 complaints remained for consideration at the end of last year.

The report states that “no complaint made during 2024 was, after such consideration, identified by the Registrar or the Complaints Review Committee as having disclosed a stateable case of judicial misconduct”.

Secretary to the Judicial Council, Kevin O’Neill has stated in the report that “the baseless conclusions that a judge is biased in favour of the opposing parties by reason of not listening to everything which a complainant wishes to say, or because of dissatisfaction with a decision, is regularly raised as a complaint.”

Mr O’Neill states that “it unfortunately continues to be the experience that many complainants continue to incorrectly perceive this system as an opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the outcome of court cases, whether or not they were actively involved in those cases”.

The report estimates that in excess of 90 per cent of complaints came from litigants who represented themselves in court proceedings.

Mr O'Neill said: "My own experience is that many complaints fall far short of the threshold for admissibility set out in the Act.

"The prevalence of complaints from unrepresented parties continues to suggest that persons who do not have the benefit of legal advice have greater difficulty understanding the court process and what has occurred and why.

“Persons attending court, particularly for the first time, understandably find the experience to be overwhelming and difficult to comprehend."

Mr O’Neill stated that having considered in excess of 500 complaints by the end of 2024, including listening to the audio recording of many hearings, "the conduct of the Irish judiciary is of the highest standard".

He said: “In addition, our judges in my experience show remarkable restraint, including when encountering significant provocation.”

The report states that "it is unfortunately the position that 167 complaints - 70 per cent of the total received - were found inadmissible as relating to decisions made in cases with which the complainant was dissatisfied”.

The report states that “a continuing feature in 2024 was that multiple complaints were made by the same complainant.

"Two complainants made a total of 43 complaints between them in 2024. Several complainants continue to make inadmissible complaints directed at the same judge.

"To a large extent, the increase in complaints made compared with 2023 was for this reason”.

Chief Justice and chair of the Judicial Council, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell, said: “A pattern is emerging of a small number of regular complainants generating a large number of the complaints dealt with, and also a significant number of complaints made by individual litigants which are often inadmissible as they are complaints about the outcome of a case rather than the conduct of the judge.

"The administration of justice is a vital function in today’s world and public discussion, commentary and criticism is important in ensuring that the task is performed as well as possible.

“Judges must be resilient enough to accept such commentary and recognise the positive role it can play.

"It is however important that any rush to “judge judges” is well informed and not based on limited understanding or knowledge of what has taken place.

"The importance of accurate reporting of what occurs in our courtrooms cannot be overstated.”