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military judge | 17 New Temporary Judge Appointed For Defence BY WESLEY BOURKE PHOTOS BY ARMN NEVILLE COUGHLIN Inns, Judge O'Hagan entered the legal world in 1969 as a junior coun- sel on the Eastern Circuit. When we met with Judge O'Hagan he told us more about his background: "In 1996 I became a Senior Counsel. Two years after that I was appointed as a Circuit Court judge. In the last number of years I have been the assigned judge for the Northern Circuit, oversee- ing the counties of Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim. In May 2012, I was designated by Judge Mathew Deery, president of the Circuit Court, to perform the functions of a military judge. Since then I have presided at three trials by court-martial." Judge O'Hagan is no stranger to the Defence Forces having joined the FCÁ in 1963 while at Clongowes justice system to deal with breaches of military law by serving person- nel. Prosecutions take place through courts-martial, which are normally presided over by a military judge. The Defence (Amendment) Act 2011 pro- vides for the designation of a circuit court judge to perform the functions of a military judge in certain circum- stances, for example where a military judge is not available through illness or where no military judge has been appointed. The Act also allows for a circuit judge to hear a court-martial case if a military judge feels there may be a conflict of interest in a particular case. On May 18th 2012, as a consequence of the retirement of Colonel Anthony McCourt (the first military judge, appointed in 2007), Judge John D O'Hagan SC was desig- nated by the president of the Circuit Court to perform the functions of a military judge at courts-martial. Taking his BCL at UCD and King's A s all military organisations throughout the world the Defence Forces has its own chael Campion has been appointed by the Minister for Defence Mr. Alan Shatter TD, on the 12 Sept 2012. We hope to bring you more on this in a future issue. tem, Judge O'Hagan commented: "The military justice system is quite specialised and quite prop- erly reflects the unique disciplin- ary requirements of the Defence Forces. That said, I think I will bring a fresh, broader perspective from the outside. It must be said that the new system which has been in place since September 2008 is largely the result of several years work by (now retired) Colonels Billy Nott and Tony McCourt. It is a credit to them. The Defence Forces has really moved on from the old system and is a model for other nations. I am really looking forward to being a part of that sys- tem in the future." A new permanent Judge, Col Mi- Court, Judge O'Hagan resigned his commission. On the new military justice sys- Judge O'Hagan spent some time with the Defence Forces Legal Service - a first for a reservist. On one occasion he even prosecuted a court- martial case for the then Deputy Judge Advocate-General (whose prosecutorial functions are now performed by the Director of Military Prosecutions). On nomination to the Circuit Wood College in Kildare. In Novem- ber 1972 he was commissioned as an officer into D Company, 20 Inf Bn ('An Phiarsaigh'). "I stayed there for five or six years," Judge O'Hagan says, "before transferring to 2 Fd MP Coy in Collins Bks, Dublin, as staff officer, with the rank of commandant. I had a wonderful time in the FCÁ and met great people." Interestingly, while in the FCÁ www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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