Now second judge quits Dubai role amid storm
Kelly says he does not want controversy to ‘disrupt retirement’
A SECOND Irish judge has resigned from the Dubai financial courts less than a week after being sworn in.
The resignation follows controversy about Dubai’s human rights record and the alleged abduction of two of the daughters of the country’s ruler.
The former president of the High Court, Peter Kelly, announced his resignation yesterday.
It comes after former Irish Chief Justice Frank Clarke announced on Saturday he had resigned after only three days with the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC).
Both were sworn in at an online ceremony last Wednesday before Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Mr Kelly, who had to retire two years ago on his 70th birthday, said in a statement that he did not want to attract any negative attention in his retirement. He told The Irish Times last night: ‘I have decided to resign from the Court of Appeal of the DIFC since, as a private citizen, I do not want this controversy to disrupt my future time in retirement.’
Mr Kelly and Mr Clarke were among four judges appointed last Tuesday to the DIFC courts, in a virtual swearing in ceremony, by Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
On Saturday, Mr Clarke said in a statement he had submitted his resignation as a judge of the DIFC courts to the chief justice of that court.
He said: ‘Ireland and many Irish companies do significant business in, and with, Dubai and in that context it is important that there be an independent and trusted dispute resolution system available to those companies.
‘However, I am concerned that the current controversy could impact on the important work of the Law Reform Commission to which I am committed.’
The DIFC, which began operating in 2006, is an English speaking, common law court that does not operate under Sharia law and has jurisdiction over civil and commercial disputes.
Dubai’s human rights record has been roundly condemned by the UN’s International Labour Organisation, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others.
It has no democracy, trade unions or free speech and foreign citizens, who make up 90% of the population, have no path to citizenship. Even second or third generation Indian nationals living in the county have been deported for minor infractions.
Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum owns eight farms in Ireland, including the 1,500 acre Kildangan Stud in Co. Kildare.
He has been hit by major controversies in recent years.
The youngest of his four wives, Haya, fled to Britain in April 2019, fearing for her safety following the discovery she was having an affair with a bodyguard.
She was later blackmailed by four members of her security team while the sheikh orchestrated a campaign of intimidation against her, and then later hacked her phone and those of her lawyers, previous court findings have shown.
A British family court judge ruled this year that she had been coerced and she had the right to sole custody of their children.
In February of last year, former Irish president, Mary Robinson said she was tricked into giving support to the Al Maktoum family after it forced Sheikh Mohammed’s daughter, Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum, to return to Dubai.
She had fled to the Indian ocean on a yacht in the hope of reaching the west.
In a BBC Panorama documentary, Mrs Robinson said she was ‘tricked’ into taking friendly photos with Latifa that she didn’t know would become public.
Mrs Robinson said she was told Sheikha Latifa suffered from bipolar disorder, and that her comments at the time, that the princess was clearly a ‘troubled young woman’, in the care of her family, were based on this belief.
‘It could impact on Law Reform work’