GEMME Ireland and the specialist Bar ADR Committee organized an event entitled "Propelling courtroom disputes into mediation" which took place on Wednesday 3 July. It was a hybrid event with attendees having the option to attend in-person or join virtually.
(In the picture from left to right: Ms Justice M Bolger, Mr Justice M Sanfey, C Smith SC, N Buckley SC, Mr Justice M P O'Higgins, A Farrelly BL)
Practical information on the event is included below.
- Event Date: Wednesday 3rd July 2024
- Time: 4.30pm - 6.15pm (4.15pm - tea/coffee)
- Venue: Gaffney Room, Bar Council of Ireland, Dublin 8
- Event Chairperson: Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger
- Speakers:
- Cathy Smith, SC: Overview of developments in the UK after Churchill and the difference in the Irish constitutional position.
- Niall Buckley, SC: The Judiciary and Mediation – Chancery
- Aoife Farrelly, BL: The Judiciary and Mediation – Personal Injuries
- Panel: The Hon. Mr Justice Mícheál P. O' Higgins (Judge of the High Court) and The Hon. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey (PI List Head) Judge of the High Court
Papers presented by Speakers
• Bringing the horses to water… The Judiciary and Mediation – Chancery Litigation (Niall F. Buckley)
• Mediation and ADR in Personal Injuries Disputes – Ending the “Alternative”? (Aoife Farrelly, BL)
• Propelling Mediation (Cathy Smith SC)
Biographical note on speakers and panel members
Niall Buckley SC
Niall Buckley is a Senior Counsel practising in commercial, public, media and property law, with a keen interest in access to justice, legal education and alternative dispute resolution.
He is a CEDR accredited mediator, and regularly acts as party representative and mediator in mediations and is current chair of the Bar Council’s Advanced Negotiation Committee.
Niall is a committee member of the Irish National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Commercial Litigation Association of Ireland, and Treasurer of the Irish Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the International Bar Association.
He is also a member of the Bar Council Education and Training Committee and the Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He is admitted to the Bar of Northern Ireland and the Bar of England and Wales, and is a co-author of Specific Performance in Ireland (Bloomsbury 2012).
Aoife Farrelly BL
Aoife is junior counsel practising on the Eastern Circuit and in Dublin, specialising in adoption, defence litigation, sports law.
She is an accredited mediator and member of the Mediators' Institute of Ireland.
She is Chair of the Sports Law Bar Association and previous Chair of Equality and Resilience Committee of the Bar of Ireland, having been elected to the Council from 2020-2023.
Aoife is a committee member of ADR and Arbitration Committee of the Bar of Ireland.
Through both her defence litigation practice, and her sports law practice, Aoife has had been involved increasingly in mediation as a means of effective and appropriate dispute resolution.
Cathy Smith SC
Senior Counsel and Member of the Inner Bar of Ireland
Specialism: Employment and Commercial Law.
Vice Chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland
Chair of the ADR and Arbitration Committee of the Bar of Ireland
CEDR Accredited Mediator
Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Member of the Executive Committee of Arbitration Ireland
Member of the ICC National Committee for Ireland
Member of the Steering Committee for Dublin International Disputes Week 2024
Director - Dublin Disputes Resolution Centre
Member of the Company Law Review Group
Chairperson and Independent Arbitrator – Central Bank Appeals Panel
Member of the Determination Panel pursuant to the European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Points System) Regulations 2020.
Former Vice Chairperson Irish Women Lawyers Association
Committee Member of the Employment Bar Association,
Member of the EU Bar Association and the Employment Lawyers Association of Ireland
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey was called to the Bar in 1987, and to the Inner Bar in 2004, practising in the areas of commercial law, chancery, insolvency and construction arbitrations. He was appointed to the High Court in December 2019. He has presided in the Chancery and Commercial divisions of the High Court, and has also been in charge of the Personal Insolvency, Arbitration and Bankruptcy Lists. He is currently the judge in charge of the Chancery List.
Mr Justice Micheál P O’Higgins
Mr Justice Micheál P O’Higgins was appointed to the High Court in April 2023. He was called to the
Bar in 1990 and was appointed senior counsel in 2008. He was made a Bencher of King’s Inns in 2018
and is also a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland. He was appointed Chairman of the Bar of
Ireland for two years 2018 to 2020. Prior to that, he was the Chair of the Bar of Ireland’s Professional
Practices Committee. As a barrister, Micheál practised in both civil and criminal law spheres. His
main areas of practice were judicial review, human rights, constitutional law and crime. Micheál was
sitting in Personal Injuries list until October 2024 when he moved to Non- Jury/Judicial Review.
