18 Facts About Nicholas Kearns

Nicholas Kearns was born on 12 December 1946 and is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the High Court from 2009 to 2015 and a Judge of the High Court from 1998 to 2015, and previously from 1998 to 2004, and a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2004 to 2009.

Nicholas Kearns attended University College Dublin and subsequently attended the King's Inns.

Nicholas Kearns achieved a diploma in European law from UCD.

Nicholas Kearns was called to the bar in 1968, the Bar of England and Wales in 1981 and became a senior counsel in March 1982.

Nicholas Kearns's practice was primarily focused on personal injuries law.

Nicholas Kearns was appointed a High Court judge in 1998.

Nicholas Kearns co-founded the Association of European Competition Law Judges.

Nicholas Kearns was an ad hoc judge of the European Court of Human Rights, serving from 2000 until 2009.

Nicholas Kearns was the chairperson of the Referendum Commission convened for the 27th Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland in 2004.

Nicholas Kearns has presided over the Special Criminal Court, and the former Court of Criminal Appeal.

Nicholas Kearns was elevated to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2004.

Nicholas Kearns became the President of the High Court in October 2009.

Nicholas Kearns retired in 2015 ahead of the mandatory retirement date to spend more time with family.

Nicholas Kearns declared that Section 30 of the Electoral Act 1992 should be construed as requiring that a writ for a by-election be moved within a reasonable time of the vacancy arising.

However, Justice Nicholas Kearns did not order the Government of Ireland to set a date for the by-election.

Nicholas Kearns was appointed by Mary Mitchell O'Connor in 2017 to become the chairperson of the Personal Injuries Commission.

Nicholas Kearns became the deputy chairperson of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin in 2015 and is a trustee of the Gate Theatre.

Nicholas Kearns is married to Eleanor, with whom he has four sons.