Peter Thomas Kelly is an Irish lawyer who held various judicial roles between 1996 and 2020. He began his career working in the civil service, before becoming a successful barrister. He was first appointed a Judge of the High Court in 1996, having an instrumental role in the establishment of the Commercial Court division of the court in 2004. He was one of the first judges appointed to a new Court of Appeal when it was established in 2014. He returned to the High Court in 2015 on becoming the President of the High Court, a role which he held until retiring in 2020. He was an ex officio member of the Supreme Court of Ireland while President of the High Court.
Kelly was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 1996 at the age of 46. He was the judge-in-charge of the Chancery List between 1997 and 1999 and the Judicial Review List between 1999 and 2003. Early in his career as a High Court judge he clashed with the government over the treatment of vulnerable young people. In 2000 he put in place a mandatory injunction requiring government ministers to provide specialist support care for underage patient. This provoked controversy with the government as if not followed, it would have held the relevant minister in contempt of court. An appeal to the Supreme Court of his decision was subsequently upheld. He became the first president of the Association of Judges of Ireland in 2011. In 2013, he accused the then government of taking apart the legal system "brick by brick".
Commercial Court
He was appointed as the presiding judge over a newly established Commercial Court within the High Court in 2004 to hear cases which were complex or with a claim in excess of €1 million. The structure of the court came about following rules which he proposed to the Superior Court Rules Committee and were accepted by the Minister for Justice. It was launched in October 2004. Kelly continued to preside over the court throughout the Post-2008 Irish economic downturn. He heard high profile cases arising out of the economic crash including cases involving Anglo Irish Bank, Seán Quinn, Mick Wallace and ACC Bank. He awarded a €2.2 billion judgment against Quinn. Kelly said that while presiding over the Commercial Court he witnessed "national and international fraud, sharp practice, chicanery and dishonesty".
Court of Appeal
The establishment of the Court of Appeal led to his appointment in October 2014 as one of the first six ordinary judges of the court.
President of the High Court
He was appointed as President of the High Court on 21 December 2015. By virtue of his position, he is also a member of the Supreme Court of Ireland. Upon his appointment, the Director General of the Law Society of Ireland described him as a "fearlessly independent judge with a ferocious work ethic" and said he had a "first-class legal mind". Kelly was the Acting President of the Court of Appeal for a period in 2016 while Sean Ryan was on medical leave. The Irish Times reported that he was one of three judges considered for the role of Chief Justice of Ireland upon the retirement of Susan Denham in 2017, though only Frank Clarke's name was put forward for selection by the cabinet. As President, he introduced greater safeguards for the ward of court process, re-introducing independent medical visitors. He retired on 17 June 2020 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. He received a guard of honour from judicial colleagues in lieu of a traditional ceremony, due to COVID-19 concerns. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-longest serving Irish judge. The President of the Bar Council praised what he considered Kelly's "competence, rigour, propriety and independence".
