What was probably the biggest ever meeting of the judiciary took place in the Conrad Hotel, Dublin last month. In what has been the worst year yet for the profession, with controversies surrounding Hugh O'Flaherty and Cyril Kelly in the Sheedy affair, Judge Donnchadh O Buachalla appearing in the Catherine Nevin trial and a row in Cork between solicitors and Judge Michael Pattwell, about 100 judges of all levels and from all over the country gathered to discuss what should be done.
The special closed conference was addressed by a number of experts from Australia and Canada, where common law also pertains, on systems for maintaining standards in judicial conduct and for dealing with complaints. Mrs Justice Susan Denham has been looking into possible procedures for some time and a report from the Chief Justice, Ronan Keane, is expected later this year.
Suggestions at the conference included an ethics code and a public complaints mechanism on the conduct of judges both on and off the bench. The experts were listened to with great interest, but there are still pockets of resistance to any change because of the jealously guarded judicial independence and the fear that it might be subjected to unfair pressures or accountability. As one legal eagle told Quidnunc: "It is being done successfully elsewhere, so no doubt some accountability is coming. Many embrace it but others will have to be dragged in kicking and screaming."