Adrian Hardiman

The Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman
Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland
In office 7 February 2000 – 7 March 2016
Nominated by	Government of Ireland
Appointed by	Mary McAleese
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	21 May 1951 Dublin, Ireland
Died	7 March 2016 (aged 64) Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Spouse(s)	Yvonne Murphy
Alma mater	Belvedere College, UCD, King's Inns
Occupation	Judge, Barrister

Adrian Hardiman (21 May 1951 – 7 March 2016) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland from 7 February 2000 until his death on 7 March 2016.^[1] In a tribute following his death, President Michael D. Higgins said Mr. Justice Hardiman “was one of the great legal minds of his generation,” who was “always committed to the ideals of public service”.^[2] He was described as a "colossus of the legal world" by Chief Justice Susan Denham.^[3]

One commentator wrote that "Hardiman’s greatest contribution ...was the steadfast defence of civil liberties and individual rights" and that "He was a champion of defendants’ rights and a bulwark against any attempt by an Garda Síochána to abuse its powers".^[4]

He received the rare honour of being appointed directly from the Bar to Ireland's highest court.^[4] Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, he had a successful practice as a barrister, focusing on criminal law and defamation,^[4] after being called to the Irish bar in 1974.^[5]

Birth and education

He was born on 21 May 1951 in Coolock, Dublin.^[1] His father was a teacher and President of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).^[1]

Educated at Belvedere College, Dublin and University College Dublin (where he studied history) and Kings Inns.^[1] He was president of the Student Representative Council at UCD^[4] and Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)^[4] and won The Irish Times National Debating Championship in 1973.^[6]

Family

He was married to Judge Yvonne Murphy,^[1] from County Donegal,^[7] a judge of the Circuit Court between 1998 and 2012, who conducted important inquiries relating to sex abuse including the Murphy Report and the Cloyne Report.^[8] She is currently chair of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby homes.^[8]

Mr Justice Hardiman and Judge Murphy had three sons,^[7] one of whom, Eoin, is a barrister^[7] (and has been a member of the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee^[9][10]); another, Hugh, was a personal assistant to Michael McDowell, when he was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;^[7] and Daniel (who was a Medical Student in 2009).^[7]

Political career

After being involved with Fine Gael,^[4] he joined Fianna Fáil in college^[7] and stood (unsuccessfully) for the party in the local elections in Dún Laoghaire in 1985.^[4][1] Along with other Fianna Fáil dissidents, he became a founder member of the Progressive Democrats,^[4] but left the party when appointed to the Supreme Court.^[7] He remained very friendly with the former party leader and ex-Tánaiste, Michael McDowell,^[7] who was a friend at college,^[4] a fellow founding member of the party,^[1] and best man at his wedding.^[7]

Legal philosophy

Politically, Hardiman supported the liberal side in Ireland's debates over abortion, being active in the "anti-amendment" campaign during the 1982 Abortion Referendum and later represented the Well Woman Centre in the early 1990s.^[11] After his death, he was described by Joan Burton as a liberal on social issues.^[12] But he could be an outspoken opponent of Political Correctness, such as when he rejected the Equality Authority's attempt to force Portmarnock Golf Club to accept women as full members.^[4] He also believed that certain decisions, such as those involving public spending, were better left to elected politicians rather than unelected judges, regardless of how unpopular that might sometimes be in the media (which he tended to hold in low esteem) and among what he described as the "chattering classes".^[4]

One commentator wrote that "Hardiman’s greatest contribution ...was the steadfast defence of civil liberties and individual rights" and that "He was a champion of defendants’ rights and a bulwark against any attempt by an Garda Síochána to abuse its powers".^[4] His concern for individual rights was not confined to Ireland: in February 2016, he criticized what he described as the radical undermining of the presumption of innocence, especially in sex cases, by the methods used in the UK's Operation Yewtree inquiry into historical sex allegations against celebrities, and he also criticized "experienced lawyer" and US Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton for allegedly declaring in January that "every accuser was to be believed, only to amend her view when asked if it applied to women who had made allegations against her husband", former US President Bill Clinton.^[13]

Key judgments

Hardiman wrote a number of important judgments since joining the Court. He also presided (as does each Supreme Court judge on a rotating basis) over the Court of Criminal Appeal. The following is a selection of judgments delivered by Mr Justice Hardiman, in reverse chronological order:

2007

• O'Callaghan -v- Judge Mahon:^[14] dissent; holding that Tribunal of Inquiry should be prevented from further inquiring into the applicants; cites R -v- Lynch (1829) – the Doneraile Conspiracy case – in which by skilful cross-examination Daniel O'Connell secured acquittals on capital charges; concluded that the contrary approach "would represent a very marked coarsening of our standards of procedural fairness."
• Shortt -v- The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána:^[15] one of two judgments, in which the Court more than doubled (€1.9m to €4.7m) the damages granted to a man wrongfully imprisoned for over two years after two members of the Garda Síochána concocted evidence against him
• P.H. -v- D.P.P.^[16][17]

2006

• D.P.P. -v- Anthony Barnes:^[18] discusses and restates the criminal law of self-defence in the case of burglary
• McK. -v- Homan^[19][20]
• N -v- Health Service Executive:^[21][22] one of five judgments given by the Court; this case concerned the circumstances in which a parent may exercise the right provided for in Irish law to rescind initial consent to adoption.
• A. -v- The Governor of Arbour Hill Prison:^[23] one of five judgments; the case concerned a "collateral" challenge by a prisoner to the lawfulness of his detention following the judgment in C.C. -v- Ireland (see immediately below).
• C.C. -v- Ireland:^[24] striking down as unconstitutional part of the law on statutory rape, due to the absence in any circumstances of a defence of honest mistake as to age.

2005

• O'Callaghan -v- The Hon. Mr. Justice Mahon^[25]

2003

• Gough -v- Neary^[26]
• Lobe -v- Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform:^[27] one of seven judgments in a case concerning whether the State could deport the parents of Irish citizens who were still minors; the Court by a majority (5–2) dismissed the appeal and allowed the deportation of the family.

2002

• Dunne -v- D.P.P.:^[28] one of a series of cases, beginning with Braddish v D.P.P., in which the Court considered the contours of the Garda Síochána's duty to seek out and preserve evidence relevant to a criminal trial.
• Ardagh -v-. Maguire:^[29] this case concerned the procedures to be applied by a parliamentary inquiry into an incident in which members of the Garda Síochána shot dead a civilian, John Carthy.

Death

Hardiman died on 7 March 2016 at the age of 64.^[1]

See also

• Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adrian Hardiman.

• Irish Courts Service
• University College Dublin
• The Honorable Society of the Kings Inns
• The Literary and Historical Society (L&H)
• List of Irish Times winners
• UCC Philosoph wiki database of debaters