David Barniville

David Barniville is an Irish judge who has been the President of the Irish High Court since July 2022. He formerly practiced as a barrister and was the chair of the Bar Council of Ireland. He served as a judge of the High Court between 2017 and 2021 and was a judge of the Court of Appeal from 2021 to 2022. He is an ex officio member of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

The Hon. Mr. Justice
David Barniville
President of the High Court
Assumed office
13 July 2022
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Preceded byMary Irvine
Judge of the High Court
Assumed office
13 July 2022
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
In office
1 December 2017 – 30 August 2021
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Judge of the Court of Appeal
In office
30 August 2021 – 13 July 2022[nb 1]
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
NationalityIrish
EducationBlackrock College
Alma mater
  1. ex officio member from 13 July 2022

Early life

Barniville is from Dublin. He was born to Geraldine and Harry (both international tennis players), while his grandfather Henry Barniville was a senator and surgeon.[1][2][3] He attended secondary school at Blackrock College.[4] He studied for a BCL degree at University College Dublin, graduating in 1988.[5] He completed his studies at the King's Inns.[6]

Barniville was called to the Bar in July 1990 and became a Senior Counsel in October 2006.[6] He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2016.[4] He is a Bencher of the King's Inns and of Middle Temple.[7]

His practice as a barrister consisted of commercial law and constitutional and administrative law.[6] He was also an Accredited Mediator with a special interest in arbitration.[7] He was counsel for the Beef Tribunal and appeared with Donal O'Donnell for Michael Lowry at the Moriarty Tribunal.[8][9] He represented the Minister for Finance in the High Court on the nationalisation of Allied Irish Banks in December 2010,[10] and again on the recapitalisation of Irish Life & Permanent.[11]

He appeared regularly in the European Court of Justice representing Ireland.[12][13]

He was the chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland between 2014 and 2016.[6] He has also been a member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, the board of the Courts Service and of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the Legal Aid Board.[7] In 2016, the Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald sought clarifications from the Bar Council on the procedure of Barniville's appointment to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. The Department of Justice and Equality was ultimately satisfied with the selection process.[14]

He is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Limerick.[4] He has acted as a governor of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin and was the chair of Irish Rule of Law International.[7]

Judicial career

High Court

He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in December 2017.[15] He was the court's designated arbitration judge from June 2018.[7] As of 2020, he was the Judge in Charge of the Commercial List.[16][17]

In the High Court, he has presided over cases on matters including insolvency law,[18] injunctions,[19] defamation law,[20] and judicial review.[21] He was previously the Judge in Charge of the Strategic Infrastructure List,[7] hearing appeals of An Bord Pleanála decisions, including for developments at Saint Anne's Park and Cherrywood, Dublin.[22][23]

He was appointed the chairperson of the Referendum Commission in September 2019 for the purpose of a referendum on Nonresident voting at Irish presidential elections.[24]

Court of Appeal

The appointment of Maurice Collins as a part-time commissioner of the Law Reform Commission permitted a vacancy on the Court of Appeal. Barniville was nominated to fill the role in June 2021 and was appointed in August 2021.[25][26]

President of the High Court

Barniville was nominated to become President of the High Court in June 2022, to succeed Mary Irvine on her retirement in July 2022.[27][1] He was appointed on 13 July 2022.[28][29]

Personal life

Barnville is married to Susan O’Connell and has three children.[26]

References
  1. "David Barniville nominated as president of High Court". The Irish Times. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  2. O Callaghan, John. "New President of the High Court has strong Offaly links". www.offalyexpress.ie. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  3. "Barniville, Henry Leo ('Harry' or 'Barney') | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  4. "Masters of the Bench". www.middletemple.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. "The John M Kelly Memorial Lecture 2016, delivered by the Hon. Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell". www.ucd.ie. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. "Appointments to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and to the High Court". Gov.ie. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. "David Barniville SC". UL School of Law. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. Humphreys, Joe. "Adviser says he took TD to bank". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  9. "Written Answers. - Beef Tribunal. – Dáil Éireann (26th Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 14 October 1992. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  10. Carolan, Mary. "Successor to President of the High Court must 'drive reform'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  11. "Recapitalisation challenge time limit met". www.irishexaminer.com. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. Ireland v. European Parliament, Case C‑301/06 (ECJ 10 February 2009).
  13. Ireland v. Commission, Case C-238/96 (ECJ 1 October 1998).
  14. Gartl, Fiona. "Bar Council nomination of regulator 'matter of internal procedure'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  15. "Diary President Appoints New Judges". president.ie. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  16. "General Notices - 12/02/2020 : Legal Diary : Courts Service of Ireland". legaldiary.courts.ie. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  17. "Notice - High Court Michaelmas Term - Assignment of Judges". Courts Service. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  18. "Interim examiner appointed to water firm Celtic Pure". RTÉ News. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  19. McNulty, Fran (29 August 2019). "Further injunction granted against meat plant protests". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  20. "O'Sullivan seeks to take defamation case against paper". RTÉ News. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  21. "High Court rules against environmental campaigner in challenge to College Green plaza". www.irishexaminer.com. 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  22. "Challenges to development of 500 houses in Dublin to be fast-tracked in High Court". www.irishexaminer.com. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  23. "High Court quashes permission for €130m Cherrywood housing scheme". www.irishexaminer.com. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  24. Thomas, Cónal. "Referendum commission over extending voting rights abroad set up". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  25. Hilliard, Mark (22 June 2021). "High Court judge David Barniville nominated to Court of Appeal". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  26. "Diary President Appoints Mr David Barniville To The Court Of Appeal". president.ie. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  27. Hurley, Sandra (21 June 2022). "David Barniville named as President of the High Court". RTÉ News. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  28. "High Court president says 'timely' justice must be for all, not only cases attracting 'political attention'". The Irish Times. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  29. "Diary President Appoints David Barniville As President Of The High Court". president.ie. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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