New Irish judge for ECHR

Síofra O’Leary has been elected as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Currently a Head of Unit at the Research and Documentation Directorate at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, O’Leary will replace Judge Anne Power-Forde who resigned from the court last October. Following public advertisement, 29 applications were received and the Government submitted a list of three candidates to the Parliamentary Assembly.

A graduate of UCD and the European University Institute, Síofra has worked at the ECJ since 1996 and has also held fellowships at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University and the College of Europe, Bruges.

Congratulating O’Leary on her nine-year appointment, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said: “Ireland attaches the highest importance to European Court of Human Rights as the cornerstone of human rights protection in Europe.” He added: “The authority and credibility of the court depends in the quality of its judges. It needs high calibre judges and I have no doubt that Dr O’Leary meets this standards and that she will perform their functions as a judge of the European Court of Human Rights with the highest degree of professionalism.”