Peter Thomas Kelly (born 17 June 1950) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the High Court from 2015 to 2020 and a Judge of the High Court from 2015 to 2020, and previously from 1996 to 2014, and a Judge of

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

from 2014 to 2015. He was an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' member of the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

while President of the High Court.

Early career

Kelly was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1950 and attended O'Connell School. Upon leaving school, he worked as a civil servant at the High Court Central Office. He was educated at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and the King's Inns.

Legal career

He was called to the Irish Bar in 1973. Kelly then worked in the European Division of the Department of Justice in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

until he commenced practice in 1975. He was also called to the

Bar of England and Wales Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

and the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1981 and 1983 respectively. He became a Senior Counsel in 1986. He primarily practised in commercial and chancery law, though he also acted in

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

cases. He represented

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician Des Hanafin in a case seeking to have Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, permitting divorce, declared to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court appointed him to argue for the right of the unborn in a

reference A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...

made by President Mary Robinson under Article 26 of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

to the Supreme Court regarding the Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995. Kelly acted for families of the victims Stardust fire seeking compensation from the Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal in 1986. Other clients over the course of his career included the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

and Ben Dunne. He is a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

at the King's Inns since 1996 and

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

since 2014.

Judicial career

High Court

Kelly was appointed a High Court judge in 1996 at the age of 46. He was the judge-in-charge of the Chancery List between 1997 and 1999 and the Judicial Review List between 1999 and 2003. Early in his career on the bench in High Court, he clashed with the government over the treatment of vulnerable young people. In 2000 he put in place a mandatory

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

requiring government ministers to provide specialist support care for underage patient. This provoked controversy with the government as if not followed, it would have held the relevant minister in contempt of court. An appeal to the Supreme Court of his decision was subsequently upheld. He became the first President of the Association of Judges of Ireland in 2011. In 2013, he accused the then government of taking apart the legal system "brick by brick".

Commercial Court

He was appointed as the presiding judge over a newly established Commercial Court within the High Court in 2004, which was tasked to hear cases which were complex or with a claim in excess of €1 million. The structure of the court came about following rules which he proposed to the Superior Court Rules Committee and were accepted by the Minister for Justice. It was launched in October 2004. Kelly continued to preside over the court throughout the

post-2008 Irish economic downturn The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a Post-2008 Irish banking crisis, series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign dire ...

. He heard high-profile cases arising out of the economic crash including cases involving Anglo Irish Bank, Seán Quinn, Mick Wallace and ACC Bank. He awarded a €2.2 billion judgment against Quinn. Kelly said that while presiding over the Commercial Court he witnessed "national and international fraud, sharp practice, chicanery and dishonesty".

Court of Appeal

In 2014, following the establishment of the

, he was elevated as a judge of the court. He was one of the first six ordinary judges of the court.

President of the High Court

He was appointed as President of the High Court on 21 December 2015. By virtue of his position, he is also a member of the

. Upon his appointment, the Director General of the Law Society of Ireland described him as a "fearlessly independent judge with a ferocious work ethic" and said he had a "first-class legal mind". Kelly was the Acting President of the Court of Appeal for a period in 2016 while Sean Ryan was on medical leave. ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' reported that he was one of three judges considered for the role of Chief Justice of Ireland upon the retirement of Susan Denham in 2017, though only Frank Clarke's name was put forward for selection by the cabinet. As President, he introduced greater safeguards for the ward of court process, re-introducing independent medical visitors. He retired on 17 June 2020 upon reaching the mandatory statutory retirement age of 70. He received a

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

from judicial colleagues in lieu of a traditional ceremony, due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

concerns. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-longest serving Irish judge. Mícheál O’Higgins, then President of the Bar Council, praised what he considered Kelly's "competence, rigour, propriety and independence".

Further appointments

Kelly is an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

of law at

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

, serving on the Council of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

. He is also chairman of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust and St. Francis Hospice, Raheny. In June 2022, he was sworn in as judge of the court of appeal of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts but resigned a few days later following criticism from barrister and Labour Party leader, Ivana Bacik.

Personal life

Kelly lives in south Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Peter 1950 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) Irish Senior Counsel Judges of the Court of Appeal (Ireland) 21st-century Irish judges 20th-century Irish judges Alumni of King's Inns 20th-century Irish civil servants Lawyers from County Dublin