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Human rights lawyer invited to fill Attorney General shoes
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
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A human rights barrister with more than 20 years experience is to be invited to be Northern Ireland’s attorney general.
John Larkin QC (45) will be offered the position as part of a political deal devolving policing and justice powers to the province. The twice-married Catholic has carried out legal work for Sinn Fein and the DUP.
He would be the first Northern Irish attorney general since Basil Kelly’s term ended after direct rule from London was imposed 25 years ago.
The government partners have agreed a plan to take over the justice remit from Westminster to save power-sharing from collapse. Details emerged yesterday when First Minister Peter Robinson said they were to appoint Mr Larkin. Mr Larkin said: “I am honoured by the intended invitation of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and I look forward to the challenges of the new position after devolution.”
The west Belfast barrister has an extensive general legal practice but specialises in civil law including judicial reviews. One legal source said: “He is very affable and very academically bright.”
In 2002 he represented Mr Robinson in a court case which went to the House of Lords. The DUP challenged the decision of Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid not to call fresh Assembly elections before May 2003.
He also represented Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness when he took a case over the working of the North/South Ministerial Council which facilitates cross-border co-operation. One of Mr Larkin’s former teachers at St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School in west Belfast, vice-principal Fergus Woods, said he was a very gifted student after starting there in 1974.
“John was not the sort who would have gotten into trouble for anything, he was very academically-minded, a very good linguist,” he said.
The Queen’s educated lawyer was called to the Bar in 1986 and made a senior barrister in 2001.
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Smasher, the issue here is public confidence. In the light of the current en passe re policing and justice surely it is in the public interest (unlike the annointment of the Victims' Commissioners) to have an open and transparent appointment process. The parallel with government ministers is flawed as they are governmental not"quasi-governmental" and are part of the so-called democratic process. As the position and role of Attorney General is partly to do with what is in the public interest it follows that an open competition would serve that same public interest and, moving forward, to public confidence.
Posted by Thos | 20.11.08, 08:47 GMT
The post of Attorney General is quasi governmental - he is the chief advisor to the govenment. It's not the sort of job you advertise for, any more than people apply to become government ministers.
Posted by Smasher Lagru | 19.11.08, 16:30 GMT
This post should be advertised in line with the Equality Commission's Code of Practice. All this type of "invite" does is to give the cynics and bigots a platform to spout about the deals that allegedly are made behind closed political doors.
Surely it s inthe public interest that this post be advertised as widely as possible to allow the biggest possible field of applicants to consider applying for it. Any subsequent decision on appointment should then be made on the basis of merit and merit alone.
Posted by Thos | 19.11.08, 12:50 GMT