Nicholas Kearns is the President of the High Court of Ireland, and ex-officio member of the Supreme Court. He was appointed a judge of the High Court in 1998 and was appointed to the Supreme Court in November 2004. He is the most senior Irish judge after Chief Justice Susan Denham

Susan Denham

Susan Denham is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland. She was appointed by the President of Ireland on 25 July 2011...

. He was appointed as President of the High Court in October 2009.

Doherty v. Ireland

On 12 July 2010, the High Court granted leave to Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 Senator

Seanad Éireann

Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

 Pearse Doherty

Pearse Doherty

Pearse Doherty is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He serves as a Teachta Dála for the Donegal South West constituency and as Sinn Féin's Dáil spokesperson on Finance. Doherty formerly served on Donegal County Council from 2004–07 and in Seanad Éireann from 2007–10.-Background and education:Doherty...

 for a judicial review into why a by-election was not being held. The seat was vacant since June 2009 following the resignation of Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 TD

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 Pat the Cope Gallagher on his election to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. On 2 November 2010, the High Court ruled that there was an unreasonable delay in holding the by-election. In his ruling, Kearns P. described the delay as unprecedented and that the delay amounted to a breach of Doherty's constitutional rights. He declared that Section 30 (2) of the Electoral Act 1992 should be construed as requiring that a writ for a by-election be moved within a reasonable time of the vacancy arising. He further stated that: However, Justice Kearns did not order the Government to set a date for the by-election. The Government announced on 4 November 2010 that the by-election would be held on 25 November. They also stated that they would appeal

Appeal

An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....

 to the Supreme Court. On 26 November 2010, Doherty won the by-election.