Former High Court judge John Cooke dies in Dublin hospital

John D Cooke the retired judge of the High Court and of the European Court, has died in Dublin.

Judge Cooke was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1966 and admitted to the Inner Bar in 1980. He practiced as a barrister for 30 years, mainly in the areas of European law and commercial litigation.

He was also president of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the EU in 1985 and 1986.

He was appointed a member of the then Court of First Instance of the European Communities, now the General Court of the European Union, a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in January 1996.

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He retired from that Court in September 2008 and was appointed judge of the High Court in November that year.

Following his retirement in December 2013 from the High Court he was appointed by Government to conduct the Independent Inquiry into Reports of Unlawful Surveillance of the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission.

The Government had previously appointed him chairman of the commission to review the Dáil and European constituencies.

Well respected, colleagues say he had no political links .

On his retirement then High Court president Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said Judge Cooke’s career was “illustrious” and described him as “one of the foremost Irish jurists of his time”.

“From his earliest days at the bar, John Cooke exhibited outstanding ability in the area of commercial work and was a formidable advocate,” said Judge Kearns.

Judge Cooke died at St Vincent’s Private Hospital on Friday. He is survived by his wife Sally and children Catherine and David, his sister Frances and brother Richard. His funeral will take place in the Church of the Holy Cross, Dundrum on Tuesday morning.