News Publication Date: 19 January 2012
His Honour Deemster David Doyle, Her Majesty’s First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls, visited the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on the 17 January 2012.
Deemster Doyle observed the workings of the Queen’s Bench Division and the Court of Appeal in action and met with amongst others the Right Honourable Sir Declan Morgan the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Sir Declan was appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland in July 2009. On his appointment Sir Declan stated: 'Clearly, and constitutionally, the judiciary must remain in a position to make decisions which are impartial and independent of political influence.' In his speech at the opening of the new legal year Sir Declan added 'everyone who comes to court must be able to trust that the judge is independent of government and impartial between the parties. Those are the fundamental components of the rule of law and an independent judiciary is there for the benefit of the community.'
Deemster Doyle commented:
'It is always useful to meet leading judges from other jurisdictions and to discuss matters of mutual interest. The judicial world is very small and we all face similar challenges in respect of the administration of justice. It was a real pleasure to meet the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and some of his colleagues and to discuss matters of mutual interest. It was instructive to see how their courts go about their judicial business. I also hope that in a small way I have raised the profile of the Manx legal system and the Manx judiciary amongst the judiciary of Northern Ireland.'