The Law Society of Ireland has won its challenge to a decision by the Competition Authority that it [the authority] had the power to veto the choice of lawyer made by a party to an investigation.
The authority had argued that it had the power to veto in circumstances where the lawyer in question was also acting for another person in the same matter.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill said he was satisfied that persons facing a tribunal had a constitutional right to freely select the lawyers to represent them.
The case arose after the authority published guidelines in July 2004 which outlined to businesses and legal practitioners the authority's policy on the legal representation of persons attending before it.
Mr Justice O'Neill said the problem the authority had sought to address was that of conflict of interest arising in situations where there was multiple representation by one lawyer. However, in many situations of multiple representation there would be no conflict of interest, he said.
Welcoming the ruling, the Law Society's deputy director-general, Mary Keane, said that the right to be represented by a lawyer of one's choice was a fundamental tenet of any democracy.