THE TERM of Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness as president of the Law Reform Commission, which ended on Tuesday, has not been renewed.
Last year the five-year term of the former Supreme Court judge was extended by a year, which she worked on a part-time basis due to cutbacks in the commission’s funding.
For a time the future of the commission was in doubt as the McCarthy report recommended that it be closed down.
However, the Government did not accept this recommendation and it continued with its programme of law reform, although with reduced funding.
It is understood that the Attorney General told the commission last week the Government was not making appointments at the moment, leaving them to the incoming government.
However, he also indicated that it was unlikely there would be a full-time president of the commission, with a serving judge being asked to serve as part-time president instead. This would mean that no additional judge would be appointed to cover for the judge- appointed president of the commission, as has happened previously, thus saving money.