Courts, Climate & Common Sense – Austria’s Supreme Court President Georg Kodek on Why the Law Can’t Save the Planet

In this compelling episode, The Fifth Court hosts Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL sit down with Georg Kodek, President of the Austrian Supreme Court, during the European Law Institute Conference in Vienna.

He explains why courts can’t be expected to fix climate change – and why real solutions must come from politics and public conviction, not litigation.

From a Peruvian farmer’s lawsuit against German power plants to how TikTok might be used by the Austrian Supreme Court, Kodek discusses the limits of law in global challenges – and why judges must learn to speak to the public again.

But first, three fascinating Decisis.ie cases:

• DPP v Clark – Repeat firearm offender sees sentence increased from 6 to 7½ years.
• DPP v BK – Conviction of a mother set aside after court finds statements in a safeguarding assessment unreliable.
• Harford v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – Judicial review dismissed where a criminal trial was deemed an adequate remedy.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors & Collaborative Practitioners, specialising in Family Law, Civil Litigation, Property, Wills and Probate.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Fifth Court — Episode 133

Presented by barristers Mark Tottenham and Peter Leonard.

This episode opens with Josepha Madigan — solicitor, former cabinet minister and family-law mediator — on why mediation is gaining ground, what makes it work, and how practice culture is changing for clients and lawyers alike.

Then Mark and Peter review three recent Decisis cases (case-note segment sponsored by Charltons Solicitors & Collaborative Practitioners):

• A Court of Appeal judgment on alleged ineffective legal representation.
• A High Court ruling that quashed a same-day trial conviction on fair-trial grounds.
• A further decision testing procedural fairness and preparation time in summary proceedings.

Clear takeaways — and the practical implications for practitioners and clients.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LCJ Keegan on the modern courtroom — AI, experts and leadership

On Episode 132, The Fifth Court hosts Peter Leonard and Mark Tottenham have rare access to Dame Siobhán Keegan, the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, to discuss evaluating expert evidence in an age of AI and complex fact-finding, leadership on the bench, and the realities of administering justice in Belfast’s Royal Courts. The episode is recorded with her in the Royal Courts of Justice, LCJ Keegan flags her Macfadyen Lecture on evaluating the expert witness in the modern legal landscape—a timely frame for how courts should approach AI-assisted and technical testimony (provenance, transparency, methodology, limits).

Her cultural choice 'Is a River Alive?' by Robert Macfarlane, published by Hamish Hamilton

Plus, our case-law segment, drawn from the Decisis.ie casebook, covers a failed attempt to register a New York multi-billion judgment against Argentina in Ireland without locating Irish-sited assets, and the Court of Appeal’s approach to frivolous and vexatious challenges to demolition orders.

Sponsored by Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners of Dublin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.