Marie Baker Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Hon. Ms. Justice
Office:Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland
Term Start:2 December 2019
Nominator:Government of Ireland
Appointer:Michael D. Higgins
Office1:Judge of the Court of Appeal
Term Start1:28 June 2018
Term End1:2 December 2019
Nominator1:Government of Ireland
Appointer1:Michael D. Higgins
Office2:Judge of the High Court
Term Start2:8 January 2014
Term End2:28 June 2018
Nominator2:Government of Ireland
Appointer2:Michael D. Higgins
Birth Date:6 February 1954
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland

Marie Baker (born 6 February 1954) is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since December 2019. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2018 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal from 2018 to 2019.

Early career

Baker was educated at University College Cork, where she received BA, MA and BCL degrees.[1] She later attended and studied at the King's Inns and became a barrister in 1984 and a senior counsel in 2004.[2] Her practice predominantly focused on commercial law, conveyancing, family law and litigation. She specialised on cases involving the National Asset Management Agency towards the end of her career as a barrister.[3] She was a member of the Study Group on Pre-nuptial Agreements, which reported to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in 2007.[4] She has previously acted as a part-time commissioner of the Law Reform Commission and lectured in several areas of law.[5]

Judicial career

High Court

She was appointed to the High Court in January 2014.[6] She sat in on a three-judge division of the High Court in December 2014 in the case of PP v. HSE.[7]

Court of Appeal

Baker was elevated to the Court of Appeal in June 2018.[8] She holds a statutory position as the designated judge for the purpose of two acts: the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 and the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. In this role she produces an annual report for the Oireachtas.[9] She also communicates with the Taoiseach in relation to privacy and interception of communications issues.[10]

Supreme Court

She was appointed to the Supreme Court in December 2019.[11] Her appointment followed the retirement of Susan Denham in 2018.[12] Her first sitting on the court occurred on 16 January 2020, marking the first time four women had sat together on the Supreme Court.[13]

Baker is the Assigned Judge for the Irish courts for the purpose of supervising the use of personal data while courts act in their judicial capacity.[14]

Electoral Commission

Baker also serves as chairpeson of the Electoral Commission of Ireland. She was appointed to that position by Chief Justice Donal O'Donnell when the commission was established in 2023.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Who's Who in Law . UCC School of Law . 21 May 2019 . 23 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190623182342/https://www.ucc.ie/en/alumni/benefits/who/law/ . live .
  2. Web site: Appointments to the High Court . Irish Government News Service . 21 May 2019 . 16 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190516220425/https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/appointments-to-the-high-court-2.html . live .
  3. News: Sheehy . Clodagh . Court in succession: Family affair at Aras as judges appointed . 21 May 2019 . Irish Independent . 9 January 2014 . 29 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190629211353/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/court-in-succession-family-affair-at-aras-as-judges-appointed-29900854.html . live .
  4. Web site: Report of Study Group on Pre-nuptial Agreements Published . Department of Justice and Equality . 21 May 2019 . 19 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191019010138/http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Report-of-study-group-on-pre-nuptial-agreements-published . live .
  5. News: Bohan . Christine . Here are the three new judges appointed to the High Court today . 21 May 2019 . TheJournal.ie . 8 January 2014 . Journal 2013 . 16 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190516220428/https://www.thejournal.ie/new-high-court-judges-1254870-Jan2014/ . live .
  6. Web site: President Appoints Judges of the High Court . President.ie . 21 May 2019 . 16 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190516220427/https://president.ie/en/news/article/president-appoints-judges-of-the-high-court-1 . live .
  7. News: Baker . Noel . Managh . Ray . Unborn baby gets barrister for court battle . 21 May 2019 . Irish Examiner . 23 December 2014 . 31 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160331154527/http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/unborn-baby-gets-barrister-for-court-battle-303900.html . live .
  8. Web site: President appoints new Judges . President.ie . 21 May 2019 . 12 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190512172546/https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-appoints-ms-justice-marie-baker-and-mr-justice-brian-j.-mcgovern . live .
  9. News: Ms Justice Baker calls for urgent revision of data retention laws . 21 May 2019 . Irish Legal News . 22 October 2018 . 23 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210923025921/https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/ms-justice-baker-calls-for-urgent-revision-of-data-retention-laws . live .
  10. Web site: Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act, 1993 . Irish Statute Book . 21 May 2019 . 8 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191208032356/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1993/act/10/enacted/en/print.html . live .
  11. Web site: Diary President Appoints Judges To The Supreme Court And The High Court Dec 2019 . president.ie . Office of the President of Ireland . 3 December 2019 . en . 10 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201210040750/https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-appoints-judges-to-the-supreme-court-and-the-high-court-dec-2019 . live .
  12. News: Judges nominated for appointment to Supreme, Circuit and District Courts . 3 December 2019 . Law Society Gazette . 27 November 2019 . 3 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191203183806/https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/top-stories/judges-nominated-for-appointment--to-supreme-circuit-and-district-courts/ . live .
  13. News: Supreme Court sits with four women judges in landmark moment . 16 January 2020 . Irish Legal News . en . 16 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200116135414/https://www.irishlegal.com/article/supreme-court-sits-with-four-women-judges-in-landmark-moment . live .
  14. Web site: Data Protection Complaints Procedure . Courts.ie . 20 July 2020 . 20 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200720185614/https://beta.courts.ie/data-protection-complaints-procedure . live .
  15. Web site: Members of the Commission . The Electoral Commission . 4 November 2023.

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