Aileen Donnelly is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Court of the Appeal since June 2019. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2019.

Legal career

Donnelly attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where she obtained a BCL degree in 1986 and a master's degree in equality studies in 1995. She also attended the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. In 1988, she was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. Between 1996 and 2002, she was a board member and co-chair of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary R ...

(ICCL). She was counsel for a complainant in the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

. In 2004, she was called to the Inner Bar. She has published legal texts on tax law, the law of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

and gender and law.

Judicial career

High Court

She was appointed a Judge of the High Court in September 2014. She was in charge of High Court

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

cases. Donnelly postponed an order of extradition for a man to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in 2018, as a result of the

2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. She referred the issue to the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quart ...

. Her subsequent decision did not find that there was a specific threat to the accused man's rights to a fair trial. Donnelly's preliminary decision received substantial personal criticism from some Polish media publications, leading to Association of Judges of Ireland and the European Association of Judges writing statements of support for the judge.

Court of Appeal

Donnelly became a Judge of the Court of Appeal in June 2019. Her appointment followed the elevation of Mary Irvine to the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

Personal life

She was the first openly gay member to serve on the High Court and subsequently of the Court of Appeal. She is married to Dr. Susan Miner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Aileen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of University College Dublin High Court judges (Ireland) Irish Council for Civil Liberties LGBT judges Irish lesbians Place of birth missing (living people) Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) Alumni of King's Inns 21st-century Irish LGBT people