Businessman Declan Ganley has argued that a High Court judge should not hear his action alleging defamation against RTÉ because the judge had expressed views about him in the past.
Mr Ganley, a founder of the Libertas group, wants Mr Justice Colm MacEochaidh, who manages the High Court list of jury actions, to recuse himself from hearing the action in which the businessman alleges he was defamed by RTÉ's Prime Time in November 2008.
He claims Prime Time attempted to discredit him personally and professionally and undermined his opposition to the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Justice MacEochaidh said he would hear the recusal application in open court before making a decision. He had given the Ganley side an opportunity to file a notice of motion seeking his recusal and fixed the matter for hearing on Tuesday when he was told by Paul Burns SC, for Mr Ganley, the motion was not filed in time because Mr Ganley had not been available over the last few weeks to swear the necessary affidavit.
Adjournment
Paul O’Higgins SC, for RTÉ, complained of an “abuse of process” but Mr Burns said he took exception to that description.
Mr Justice MacEochaidh, who was told there are other preliminary matters to be dealt with before the actual defamation hearing, said he would adjourn the matter until after Easter. It would not be possible to deal with the other matters until the recusal issue was addressed, he said.
There were special circumstances in this case as Mr Ganley “is of the view that I lack impartiality in regard to him for expressing some negative view about him in the past”, the judge said.
He would not grant costs against Mr Ganley in relation to the fact the case was not ready to go ahead as scheduled.