The statement of the president of High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, and the president of Circuit Court, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke.
The presidents of the High Court and Circuit Court have investigated as a matter of urgency a report in the Sunday Times of 3rd November, 2013, which suggested that a judge of the Circuit Court had "tried to meddle in family case".
Any allegation of this nature is of grave concern to the judiciary generally and, in this instance, of particular concern to the judges of the Circuit Court.
The case to which the report relates was a family law case, heard and conducted in camera, which creates strict limitations on what may now be said in relation to any aspect of the case itself. We are satisfied no such limitation would arise in relation to an approach of the kind, suggested in the newspaper report.
The president of the High Court sought from Judge Abbott an account of any conversation or other communication which gave rise to the apprehension that there had been improper interference in the manner described in the article.
Judge Abbott’s recollection was to the effect that, some short few days after a ruling delivered by him on 21 July, 2010, he had encountered Judge Desmond Hogan in the yard of the Four Courts building.
In the course of a casual conversation, Judge Hogan asked was it true that he had made a particular order in the case in question, a query to which Judge Abbott took exception and dealt with by saying that the reasons for his decision would be detailed in a written judgment in due course.
The same was later delivered on 26 July, 2011. The making of this inquiry to Judge Abbott was the subject of certain questions put by Judge Abbott of one of the parties during a later hearing on 15 February, 2013, and was subsequently referred to by Judge Abbott in his ruling on 12 July, 2013.
The president of the Circuit Court separately sought from Judge Hogan a response to this account.
Judge Hogan stated that at this remove in time he is unable to recall the conversation or how he came by the information that a particular ruling had been made in July 2010.
He would not dispute that he may have asked Judge Abbott in a casual way about the case.
However, Judge Hogan is satisfied that he had no solicitation or request to that end from any politician or from any party involved in or connected with the case in any way.
There had been absolutely no intention of interfering with the case or influencing its outcome in any way and he deeply regrets that his query may have given rise to any such apprehension.
The raising of the matter in question, which should not have occurred, could not have influenced Judge Abbott in his ruling of 21 July, 2010 as it was made in the aftermath of that ruling.
We are also satisfied, as indeed verified by Judge Abbott, that the conversation of July, 2010 (which was one lasting less than one minute) had no effect when three years later he delivered a further ruling on 12 July, 2013.