European watchdog pours scorn on Ross’s judicial revamp

Europe’s anti-corruption watchdog has warned the government that its new system for appointing judges is a threat to judicial independence, in a move that could derail the pet project of Minister for Transport Shane Ross.

It came after the country’s most senior judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Clarke, took the unusual step of contacting the watchdog themselves and contradicting the government’s assurances about the new judicial appointments system.

Ross has been ...