The call of Mr Philip Magee to the Irish Inner Bar made a little bit of legal history yesterday.
He is the first barrister practising primarily in Northern Ireland, and not already a queen's counsel, to become a senior counsel here. He will now also be able to enjoy the rights and privileges of a QC in Northern Ireland.
It is not the first time Mr Magee has made legal history. In 1995 he challenged the requirement that those called to the inner bar in Northern Ireland should swear an oath of allegiance to the queen. He argued that this was a specific breach of an Act of Parliament, the Promissory Oaths Act, introduced into Northern Ireland (but not England and Wales) in 1922.
His case was never litigated, as the then Northern Ireland secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, conceded that the oath was not legal and the requirement was withdrawn. Mr Magee's costs were awarded to him by Mr Justice Kerr in the High Court. He did not apply to be called as a QC.
But this was not the end of the matter, as two other barristers, Mr Seamus Treacy and Mr Barry MacDonald, challenged a further requirement, that those becoming queen's counsel should declare they would serve the queen, as well as all they were called upon to serve. They won their case and were called as queen's counsel and, later, as senior counsel in Dublin.
Mr Magee was called to the Northern Ireland bar in 1975 and to the Irish bar in 1981. He was a lecturer in law in Queen's University from 1973 to 1976, and in UCC from 1979 to 1982. Since 1982 he has practised full-time as a barrister, mainly in Belfast, specialising in criminal defence work. His cases have included supergrass cases and other serious criminal trials.
He has also practised from time to time in Dublin, and will appear for Mr Michael McKevitt in the Special Criminal Court later this year, along with Mr Hugh Hartnett SC.
He told The Irish Times he was "very honoured" to be given the honour of SC by the Irish Government, and delighted that the North's Lord Chief Justice, Lord Carswell, had indicated to the chairman of the Northern Ireland Bar Council that he would be granted similar rights and privileges as a QC at the bar in Northern Ireland. So he will be appearing in court there on Monday in his SC's robes.
He will also now be paid as a QC. One effect of working as a junior counsel is that even when leading cases in court, as he did, he was paid only five-sixth's of a QC's fees.