Peter Kelly

Peter Thomas Kelly (born 17 June 1950) is a retired Irish judge. He served as President of the High Court from 2015 to 2020, a Judge of the High Court from 2015 to 2020 (and previously from 1996 to 2014) and a Judge of Court of Appeal from 2014 to 2015. He was an ex officio member of the Supreme Court of Ireland while President of the High Court.

Early life and education Kelly was born in Dublin in 1950 and attended O'Connell School. He was educated at University College Dublin and the King's Inns. Kelly then worked in the European Division of the Department of Justice in Brussels and Luxembourg until he commenced practice in 1975. He was also called to the Bar of England and Wales and the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1981 and 1983 respectively. The Supreme Court appointed him to argue for the right of the unborn in a reference made by President Mary Robinson under Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland to the Supreme Court regarding the Information (Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995.

Kelly acted for families of the victims Stardust fire seeking compensation from the Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal in 1986. Other clients over the course of his career included the Aga Khan and Ben Dunne.

He is a bencher at the King's Inns since 1996 and Middle Temple since 2014. He was the judge-in-charge of the Chancery List between 1997 and 1999 and the Judicial Review List between 1999 and 2003.

Early in his career on the bench in High Court, he clashed with the government over the treatment of vulnerable young people. In 2000 he put in place a mandatory injunction requiring government ministers to provide specialist support care for underage patient.

Commercial Court He was appointed as the presiding judge over a newly established Commercial Court within the High Court in 2004, which was tasked to hear cases which were complex or with a claim in excess of €1 million.

Kelly continued to preside over the court throughout the post-2008 Irish economic downturn. Seán Quinn, Mick Wallace and ACC Bank. He awarded a €2.2 billion judgment against Quinn.

Court of Appeal In 2014, following the establishment of the Court of Appeal, he was elevated as a judge of the court. He was one of the first six ordinary judges of the court.

President of the High Court He was appointed as President of the High Court on 21 December 2015. By virtue of his position, he is also a member of the Supreme Court of Ireland.

Kelly was the Acting President of the Court of Appeal for a period in 2016 while Sean Ryan was on medical leave. The Irish Times reported that he was one of three judges considered for the role of Chief Justice of Ireland upon the retirement of Susan Denham in 2017, though only Frank Clarke's name was put forward for selection by the cabinet.

As President, he introduced greater safeguards for the ward of court process, re-introducing independent medical visitors. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-longest serving Irish judge. Mícheál O’Higgins, then President of the Bar Council, praised what he considered Kelly's "competence, rigour, propriety and independence".

Further appointments Kelly is an adjunct professor of law at Maynooth University, serving on the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Personal life Kelly lives in south Dublin.