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Úna Ní Raifeartaigh

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The Hon. Ms. Justice
Úna Ní Raifeartaigh
Judge of the European Court of Human Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2024
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byCouncil of Europe
Judge of the Court of Appeal
In office
4 November 2019 – 1 July 2024
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Judge of the High Court
In office
13 September 2016 – 4 November 2019
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
NationalityIrish
Relations
Alma mater

Úna Ní Raifeartaigh is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since July 2024. She previously served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal from 2019 to 2024 and a Judge of the High Court from 2016 to 2019.

Before her elevation to judicial office, she practised as a senior counsel and she was also a legal academic. Her academic and legal expertise is in criminal law and the law of evidence.

Early life

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Ní Raifeartaigh was born to Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh and Treasa Donnelly.[1] She attended University College Dublin and the King's Inns, graduating from UCD with a BCL degree in 1988.[2][3] She was a research assistant at the Law Reform Commission from 1988 to 1991.[4] She held the position of Reid Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College Dublin from 1991 to 1995,[5] a position formerly held by Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson.[6][7]

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She became a barrister in 1993 and a senior counsel in 2009.[5] Her practice mostly focused on criminal law.[2] She frequently appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in prosecuting cases on behalf of the State and was the highest paid barrister for the State in 2015.[8] She was prosecution counsel in cases against Seán FitzPatrick relating to Anglo Irish Bank,[9] Sharon Collins in hiring a hitman to kill her partner,[10] Mark Nash regarding the Grangegorman killings,[11] and Linda and Charlotte Mulhall,[12] She was also involved in prosecutions in the Special Criminal Court,[13] including a trial related to the Omagh bombing.[14] She worked with Kevin Feeney to collect evidence, examine witnesses and present evidence on behalf of the Joint Oireachtas Committee investigating Brian Curtin.[15]

She has also appeared as defence counsel in criminal trials.[16] She represented a religious order at the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.[17] She has argued before the European Court of Human Rights.[2]

She is a former director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and chairperson of the Private Securities Services Appeal Board.[2]

She has co-authored books on the law of evidence in Ireland and the Special Criminal Court.[18][19] She is the founder of the Criminal Law Forum.[20]

Judicial career

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Ní Raifeartaigh was appointed to the High Court in September 2016.[21] She has heard cases involving matters relating to criminal law,[22] constitutional law, road traffic offences,[23] judicial review,[24] extradition,[25] bail,[26] and land law.[27]

She was the presiding judge in a case brought by Denis O'Brien in 2017 against the Oireachtas, following statements made in Dáil Éireann made by Pearse Doherty and Catherine Murphy regarding his financial affairs. The judge refused reliefs sought by O'Brien against the politicians, finding that there could be no judicial interference in regulating parliamentary privilege in the Irish legislature. She identified a constitutional protection of comments made during Dáil debates.[28] Her judgment was upheld by a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Chief Justice Frank Clarke in March 2019.[29]

She has served as an ad hoc judge for Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights.[30]

She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in November 2019.[31] Her appointment was one of six appointments due to expansion of the number of judges on the Court of Appeal following the enactment of the Courts Act 2019.[32]

She is an adjunct professor at Maynooth University.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Irish physicist who had a theorem named after him". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Appointments to the Court of Appeal and the High Court". merrionstreet.ie. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Two alumni to be appointed to High Court". Facebook. UCD School of Law. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Author: Úna Ní Raifeartaigh". Bloomsbury Professional. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Appointments to the Court of Appeal". The Department of Justice and Equality. The Department of Justice and Equality. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Mary Robinson: Human rights champion". BBC News. 18 March 2002. Archived from the original on 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Top scholar Emma proves she's a chip off the old block". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  8. ^ Gleeson, Colin (20 July 2016). "Úna Ní Raifeartaigh nominated as High Court judge". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  9. ^ "FitzPatrick trial told of 'behind-the-scenes work'". www.irishexaminer.com. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Lawyer at centre of high-profile gang cases earns top DPP money". Independent.ie. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Mark Nash Trial: Jacket belonging to murder accused and heavily blood stained clothing examined in same lab six weeks apart". independent. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Mulhall trial enters final stages". Breaking News. 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Corkmen jailed for firebomb attack on house". Irish Examiner. 25 February 2005. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Court reserves judgement in Omagh bomb trial". Irish Examiner. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  15. ^ "OINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE ON ARTICLE 35.4.1 OF THE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION 39 OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT 1924". Oireachtas.ie. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Man jailed for 17 years for false imprisonment of girl". The Irish News. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifertaigh, Maynooth University". www.maynoothuniversity.ie. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  18. ^ Heffernan, Liz; Ní Raifeartaigh, Úna (28 February 2014). Evidence in criminal trials. ISBN 9781780434209.
  19. ^ Harrison, Alice; Ní Rafeartaigh, Úna; Bowman, Michael (30 April 2019). The Special Criminal Court: Practice and Procedure. ISBN 9781780439068.
  20. ^ "Maynooth University hosts the Criminal Law Forum". Irish Legal News. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Diary President Appoints The Hon. Mr. Justice John Edward Hedigan As Judge To The". president.ie. Office of the President of Ireland. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Judge laments 'bizarre' lack of sentencing guidelines for rape cases". Irish Legal News. 30 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  23. ^ "28,000 motoring cases may be pulled after judge's ruling". Independent.ie. 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Boy expelled from school for smoking cannabis joint unable to sit his Junior Cert exam, court hears". www.irishexaminer.com. 30 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  25. ^ Tighe, Mark (20 October 2019). "US father 'traced missing girls and their mother to rural Ireland via web'". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Former solicitor Michael Lynn lodges bail appeal". Breaking News. 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  27. ^ Carolan, Mary (2 July 2019). "Palmerston Road couple lose Nama action over €32m loans". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Denis O'Brien loses High Court action over Dáil disclosure". The Irish Times. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  29. ^ O'Donnell, Orla (5 March 2019). "Supreme Court dismisses Denis O'Brien appeal". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  30. ^ "List of Ad hoc judges for the year 2019" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  31. ^ "Diary President Appoints Judges To The Court Of Appeal". president.ie. Office of the President of Ireland. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  32. ^ Quann, Jack (11 October 2019). "Government agrees to appoint six new judges to Court of Appeal". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  33. ^ "Department hosted Criminal Law Forum, established by Judge Una ni Raifeartaigh | Maynooth University". www.maynoothuniversity.ie. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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