Sir, - The hasty resignation of two judges will achieve nothing if it serves to divert critical attention towards these two men and away from the institution they represent. The fact is that the Irish judiciary is in serious need of reform. Cases are prearranged or "squared" every day in our courts and this is due to the nature of the judiciary itself.
In continental Europe, young law students who wish to become judges are streamed away from those who want careers as advocates under the system of civil law. That way the judiciary is kept independent of the lawyers. In Ireland, by contrast, nobody except a solicitor or a barrister is allowed to hear cases. Such a judge is no more than a senior member of the legal profession - a lawyer who has been promoted.
No barrister should sit behind the bench in our courts. A barrister-judge is compromised by definition. Trained and moulded as a lawyer during his formative years, he is taught a loyalty to his profession and colleagues that lasts all his life. He socialises with other lawyers, their wives socialise together, and he is more than likely to be a member of the same (male) secret societies as his colleagues at the other side the bench. Such a judge is far from the independent; he is fully accountable to the other lawyers.
The "compo" scam - i.e. the notorious personal injury awards made in the Irish courts - are the best illustration of what I mean. Anyone suing for compensation is almost certain to get money - and the award will be notably high by European standards. That way all the lawyers are looked after and the next person is encouraged to bring forward his proceedings and continue the scam.
An independent judge is somebody who has a good knowledge of the law but who has never been a member of the lawyers' club. There are plenty of young men (and young women) with good law degrees who would make excellent judges. They would put an end to the closed circle of a judiciary controlled by the legal profession where "deals" and "scams" are a way of life. - Yours, etc., Louise Lyons,
Malden Road, New Malden, Surrey, England.