Our Structure

Any member of the judiciary appointed in the manner provided by Bunreacht Na h-Éireann may be a Member of the AJI, including retired judges who have not returned to practise. Military judges are also eligible for membership, as well as any member nominated by Ireland to be a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), an Advocate General of the CJEU, a judge of the General Court of the European Union or a judge of the European Court of Human Rights. 

The day to day affairs of the AJI are managed by a twelve person executive committee. Eleven members of the executive consist of representatives elected annually at the A.G.M. by the AJI members belonging to each court jurisdiction, i.e. the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court respectively. Each court jurisdiction, with the exception of the District Court, has two such representatives. The District Court has three representatives. In addition the executive may co-opt additional non voting members from time to time. The Presidents of each court, namely, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court, are not eligible for membership of the executive committee. The twelfth member, and chairperson of the executive committee, is the President of the Association who is elected by the general membership at the A.G.M. for a term of two years (save in the case of the first President of the Association whose first term of office expired at the A.G.M. held in November 2012) and who can hold office for no more than three consecutive terms. The executive committee meets on a monthly basis or as the need arises.

At executive committee meetings, the twelve members of the executive committee elected by the various jurisdictions, have one vote each and the President, or other presider, has a casting vote in the event of an evenly split vote.

Save to the extent that it is constrained by the provisions of the Constitution, the executive committee is free to determine its own procedures and to make such arrangements for the governance and the management of the day to day affairs of the AJI as it thinks fit. To that end the executive committee has established the additional non-constitutional offices of Secretary and Treasurer respectively.