Ronan Keane

Ronan Keane (born July 20, 1932 in Dublin ) is a former Irish judge and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2004 .

Life

After attending Blackrock College in Dublin, he studied contemporary history at UCD in Dublin, where he received a Bachelor of Arts ( BA Modern History ) in 1953 . He then completed a postgraduate degree in law at King's Inns , where he received a scholarship ( John Brooke Scholarship ) as the best student of the final year . After his admission to the bar in 1954, he took up extensive legal practice and was appointed to the Inner Bar in 1970 , so that he was allowed to use the title Senior Counsel .

In July 1979 he was appointed judge of the High Court , the highest civil and criminal court in Ireland. As such, he led the negotiations in 1981 in the proceedings on the so-called Stardust Fire , which involved the death of 48 young people in a fire in a nightclub. He was also President of the Judicial Reform Commission between 1987 and 1992.

In 1996 he was appointed to the Supreme Court as a judge and was appointed Chief Justice of Ireland in 2000.

In this capacity, he directed a number of significant proceedings such as TD v. Minister of Education 2001, in which the Supreme Court ruled that judicial orders against the government could only be issued in very exceptional circumstances. In the Maguire v. Ardagh , the Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that a committee set up by Parliament ( Oireachtas ) did not have the power to investigate the circumstances of an alleged wrongful death.

On the other hand, Keane was also known for his dissenting opinions on fundamental decisions , as in 2001 in the Sinnott v. Minister of Education , in which he voted against the decision of the Supreme Court that the right to free primary education only applies to people under the age of 18. In the North Western Health Board v. HW and CW from 2001 he also represented a minor opinion . In the trial, the Supreme Court ruled that the parents of a child should not be forced against their will to allow their child to have a phenylketonuria (PKU) blood test, even if it is in the best interests of the child .

In 2004 he was retired and replaced as Chief Justice by John L. Murray . As a former chief judge, he is currently still a member of the State Council .

Publications

• Law of Local Government in the Republic of Ireland , 1982, ISBN 0902027212 .
• Equity and the Laws of Trusts in the Republic of Ireland , 1988, ISBN 0406102708 .
• Company Law in the Republic of Ireland , 2007, ISBN 1845922980 .

Web links

• Former Chief Justices on the Supreme Court website