Isobel Kennedy is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal since November 2018. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2015 to 2018 and Chairperson of the Referendum Commission from March 2018 to November 2018.
Isobel Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Court of Appeal | |
| Assumed office 13 November 2018 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Michael D. Higgins |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 10 February 2015 – 13 November 2018 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Michael D. Higgins |
| Chair of the Referendum Commission | |
| In office 29 March 2018 – 11 November 2018 | |
| Appointed by | Eoghan Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Limerick, Ireland |
| Alma mater | |
Kennedy is from Limerick.[1] She obtained a BCL degree in 1986 from University College Cork and began practising as a barrister in 1988.[2] She specialised in criminal and constitutional law. She served on the Barristers' Professional Conduct Tribunal of the Bar of Ireland and was a member of the Bar Council between 1995 and 1997. She became a senior counsel in 2003.[1] Kennedy acted as a barrister for the Investigation Committee of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.[3]
She became a High Court judge in February 2015.[4] She was nominated following a selection process by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.[2] She acted as Judge on the Special Criminal Court until 2018.[5]
Kennedy twice served as chairperson to the Referendum Commission, serving for the referendum to allow the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion and the referendum to remove blasphemy from the Constitution.[6][7] The referendum on abortion had the highest voter turnout in a referendum since the establishment of the commission. Kennedy recommended in a report to the Oireachtas that the Commission be replaced with "a permanent Electoral Commission".[8]
She became a Judge of the Court of Appeal in November 2018.[9] Kennedy's appointment to the Court of Appeal at the same time as Caroline Costello led to the first Irish court with a gender-balanced number of judges.[10]
She currently serves on the Advisory Committee to the School of Law at the University of Limerick.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Hurley, David (30 January 2015). "Limerick woman set to be new High Court judge". Limerick Leader. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Appointment to the High Court". Irish Government News Service. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Interim Report". Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "President appoints Judge Margaret Heneghan and Ms. Isobel Kennedy S.C.as High Court Judges". President.ie. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Government shuffles judges". Law Society Gazette. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Minister Murphy announces establishment of Referendum Commission". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Referendum Commission (Establishment) (No.2) Order 2018" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Report on the referendum on the regulation of the termination of pregnancy" (PDF). Referendum Commission. September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "President appoints judges to the Court of Appeal and the High Court". President.ie. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Minister Flanagan welcomes 50/50 gender balance in Court of Appeal". Irish Government News Service. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Management & Advisory Committees". UL School of Law. Retrieved 21 May 2019.