Nial Fennelly (born 3 May 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 2000 to 2014,
Advocate General 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 ...
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 1995 to 2000.
He was educated at
Clongowes Wood College, took a degree in economics at
University College Dublin and completed his Bar studies 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 ...
. He was a Barrister-at-Law from 1964 to 1995; when he was appointed as a
senior counsel, he based himself full-time in
Dublin, but when a junior barrister, he worked both there and on the Southeastern circuit. Fennelly was Chairman of the
Bar Council of Ireland
The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
shortly before his appointment as Advocate General. Fennelly is president of the Irish Society for European Law.
[
Fennelly is the sole member of the "Commission of Investigation (Certain Matters relative to An Garda Síochána and other persons)", commonly called the Fennelly Commission, a commission of investigation established in April 2014 by the Government of Ireland to investigate several controversies involving the ]Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
.
See also
* List of members of the European Court of Justice
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fennelly, Niall
1942 births
Living people
Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland
Advocates General of the European Court of Justice
People educated at Clongowes Wood College
Alumni of University College Dublin
Irish officials of the European Union
Alumni of King's Inns
Lawyers from County Dublin
20th-century Irish judges
21st-century Irish judges
Irish Senior Counsel