David Barniville

Mr. Justice David Barniville is the President of the High Court of Ireland.

He was appointed a judge of the High Court in December 2017 after almost 27 years in practice as a barrister and Senior Counsel in the Courts of Ireland and in the European Courts. He was the judge in charge of the Commercial Division of the High Court (2019-2021). He was, and is again, also designated as the Arbitration Judge to hear all arbitration related matters in the High Court. He was previously the judge in charge of the Strategic Infrastructure List in the High Court (2018-2019). David was appointed to the Court of Appeal in August 2021. He was appointed President of the High Court in July 2022. In that role he is ex officio a member of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Council of State.

David was appointed as a member of Ireland’s National Group on the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2018 and held that position until 2025. In October 2024 he was appointed to the ICC’s Governing Body for Dispute Resolution.

David is a member of the Board of the Courts Service and of the Judicial Council and is Chair of the Finance Committee of the Courts Service and of its Investment Committee. He is also a member of the recently established Judicial Appointments Commission (having been a member of its predecessor body, the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, from 2014-2016 and 2022-2024).

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of BAILII (the British and Irish Legal Information Institute) and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of European Law (ERA) from 2020-2023.

David was the President of the Association of Judges of Ireland (2019-2021) and was Chair of the Judges Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA) from 2022-2024. He is now a member of its Advisory Board.

David is a judicial fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, two leading US trial lawyer associations.

Prior to his appointment to the High Court in 2017, David was Chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland (2014-2016) and Chair of Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI) (2015-2019).

He was a member of the Bars of Ireland and of England and Wales (Middle Temple) (at 20 Essex Chambers in London). He is a Bencher of the King’s Inns in Dublin and of Middle Temple in London.

David is also an Adjunct Professor of Law in University of Limerick and University of Galway.