John Cooke (1944 – 29 April 2022) was an Irish lawyer and judge who served as a judge of the

Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

between 1996 and 2008 and the High Court between 2008 and 2013. He practised as a barrister before and after serving as a judge.

Early career

Cooke was born in 1944 to Kathleen and Richard Cooke, a barrister who practiced until he died aged 94. He obtained BCL and LLB degrees from

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 ...

. He became a barrister in 1966 and a senior counsel in 1980. He was also called to the bars of Northern Ireland, England and Wales, and New South Wales. His case load was predominantly in commercial litigation and EU law, with expertise in competition law. He appeared in cases in the EU courts.

Judicial career

Court of First Instance

Cooke became a judge of the

in 1996. He succeeded

Donal Barrington Donal Patrick Michael Barrington (28 February 1928 – 3 January 2018) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2000, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1989 to 1996 and a Judge of the High Court from ...

as the Irish judge on the court. His term was renewed in 2001 and he concluded his term early in September 2008. He was the judge-rapporteur in ''

Microsoft Corp. v. Commission ''Microsoft Corp. v. Commission'' (2007T-201/04 is a case brought by the European Commission of the European Union (EU) against Microsoft for abuse of its dominant position in the market (according to competition law). It started as a complaint ...

''.

High Court

He was appointed to the High Court in November 2008. He heard numerous cases involving asylum law while serving on the court. He heard cases involving judicial review, competition law, injunctions, and insolvency law. He approved the appointment of two provisional examiners to the

QUINN group Mannok, formerly the QUINN group, is a business group headquartered in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The group has ventured into cement and concrete products, container glass, general insurance, radiators, plastics, hotels, and r ...

in March 2010. He presided in hearings related to the bankruptcy of Seán Dunne. His decision in ''Lofinmakin v. Minister for Justice Equality & Law Reform'' was upheld by 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 ...

. Cooke was appointed to chair the

Constituency Commission The Constituency Commission ( ga, An Coimisiún um Thoghlaigh) is an independent commission in Ireland which advises on redrawing of constituency boundaries of Dáil constituencies for the election of members to Dáil Éireann (the lower house ...

in 2011, which produced reports to the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

in 2012 and 2013. The 2012 report recommended reducing the number of members of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

by eight. He retired in December 2013.

Later career

Cooke chaired an inquiry from June 2014 into allegations of surveillance of the

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing the Garda Síochána, the national police force. It is a three-member body established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 to dea ...

. His report found no evidence of bugging. He was appointed chair of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal in 2015, with his term renewed in 2020. He was appointed the sole member of a Commission of Investigation into the sale of loans by the

National Asset Management Agency The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA; ga, Gníomhaireacht Náisiúnta um Bhainistíocht Sócmhainní) is a body created by the government of Ireland in late 2009 in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish pr ...

known as Project Eagle. The timeframe to report was extended to June 2022 in March 2022. He acted for the Irish government in relation to the ''

Ireland v Commission On 29 August 2016, after a two-year investigation, Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission announced: "Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple". The Commission ordered Apple to pay €13 billion, plus interest, in unpaid ...

'' case.

Personal life

He was married to Sally and had two children. He died in April 2022, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, John 1944 births 2022 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin 20th-century Irish lawyers Alumni of King's Inns General Court (European Union) judges High Court judges (Ireland)