Former Dubai Chief Justice "Frank Clarke" has resigned as a judge

The State's former chief justice has quit his new job at the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.

Frank Clarke, who was Ireland's top judge until last year, was sworn as a DIFC judge in at a virtual ceremony earlier this week.

At a virtual ceremony earlier this week, Frank Clarke, who served as Ireland's highest judge until last year, was sworn in as a DIFC judge.

Alongside Peter Kelly, the previous High Court president, he was slated to fill the position.

Mr. Clarke has since announced that he would not be accepting the position.

He stated in a statement: "I believed it to be the case that this did not result in any difficulty.

I had previously made public reference of the potential for my nomination to the DIFC Courts in a Sunday Business Post podcast before I was named the president of the Law Reform Commission.

“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.”

The proposed post for Mr. Clarke had caused controversy for a number of reasons, including the political leadership in Dubai's disregard for human rights.

"However, I am concerned that the present issue could affect the crucial work of the Law Reform Commission to which I am dedicated," the statement said. In light of the above, I can state that I've given notice to the Chief Justice of the DIFC courts of my intention to quit as a judge today.