Women in plain sight in the law: Síofra O’Leary, Catherine McGuinness, Frances Kyle & Averil Deverell
Síofra O’Leary (pictured right) has been elected President of the European Court of Human Rights (press release), and will take up office on 1 November 2022. She has been a judge of the Court since 2 July 2015, a President of a Section since 1 January 2020, and Vice-President of the Court since 2 January 2022. She will be the first female President of the Court. Congratulations, Judge O’Leary!
On this blog, I’ve already noted female-majority panels in the Irish Supreme Court. Since then – and as well as from Judge O’Leary’s elevation – there have been three interesting similar developments.
First, the Court of Appeal has made history as the first court in the Republic to have a majority of female judges: it now has has nine women and eight men. [Update (29 September 2023)]: The appointment of Jayne Jagot as a Justice of the High Court of Australia; and, like the Court of Appeal, it means that a majority of the justices of the High Court of Australia will be women [End update]. More generally, women comprise 42 per cent of the Irish judiciary.
Second, a portrait by Miseon Lee, of former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness, has been unveiled at the National Gallery of Ireland.…