Justice William McKechnie is the second-longest serving judge in Ireland’s Superior Courts. He was appointed a judge of the High Court in 2000 and took charge of the competition list from 2004 to 2010. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in June, 2010. That year, he was also elected President of the Association of European Competition Law Judges.

Justice McKechnie was Chairman of the Valuation Tribunal from 1995 to 2000 and was previously Chair of the Editorial Board of the Judicial Studies Institute Journal. He was called to the Bar in 1972 and admitted to the Inner Bar in 1987. He held a number of senior positions in the Bar Council of Ireland for several years and was elected Chairman in 1999 and re-elected in 2000.

Justice McKechnie was educated at Presentation Brothers College, University College Cork, from which he graduated in 1971, University College Dublin and The Honorable Society of King’s Inns, Dublin. He holds a Masters Degree in European Law.

Justice McKechnie is Visiting Professor at the College of Europe and has written several papers, participated in and presided over many conferences and delivered the 4th Annual CCJHR Lecture at UCC.