Fidelma Nora Macken SC (née O'Kelly; born 28 February 1942) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 2005 to 2012, a Judge of the High Court from 1998 to 1999 and between 2004 and 2005 and a Judge of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

from 1999 to 2004. In 2004, she succeeded John L. Murray, as Ireland's appointee on the

(ECJ) from 5 October 1999 to 22 September 2004. Appointed initially for a five-year term, she was the first female appointee to the

but had her mandate renewed in 2003. She was reappointed a Judge of the High Court on 18 October 2004 on her return to Ireland. She served a Judge of the

from 2005 to 2012. Macken was educated at

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 ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. She became a barrister in 1972; practiced as legal adviser, Patents and Trade Marks Agents (1973–1979) and became a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 1995. As a lawyer, she specialised on medical defence work and pharmaceutical actions. She acted as defence counsel in a series of cases brought by children against whooping cough vaccine manufacturers for damage allegedly caused by the vaccine. The Supreme Court nominated her to act in three referrals by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

querying the constitutionality of new legislation before she became a judge. In 2001, the Irish Times reported that she was an owner of the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge She has been a lecturer in Legal Systems and Methods and ''Averil Deverell Lecturer in Law'' at

. Macken returned to practice at

Brick Court Chambers Brick Court Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in London. It specialises in Commercial, EU, Competition and Public Law work. Brick Court Chambers was founded in 1921 by William Jowitt KC, later Lord Chancellor. Its rise to prominence was ...

in 2013. She is a member of the Investment Advisory Panel of Woodsford Litigation Funding, a company engaged in

litigation funding - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macken, Fidelma Living people 1945 births Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland Irish barristers European Court of Justice judges Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish women judges High Court judges (Ireland) Irish judges of international courts and tribunals Alumni of King's Inns

See also

References