Caroline Costello

{{short description|Irish judge|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

{{Use Hiberno-English|date=February 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = The Hon. Ms. Justice

| name = Caroline Costello

| image =

| office = President of the Court of Appeal

| term_start = 24 July 2024

| term_end =

| nominator = Government of Ireland

| appointer = Michael D. Higgins

| predecessor = George Birmingham

| office1 = Judge of the Court of Appeal

| term_start1 = 13 November 2018

| term_end1 =

| nominator1 = Government of Ireland

| appointer1 = Michael D. Higgins

| office2 = Judge of the High Court

| term_start2 = 22 September 2014

| term_end2 = 13 November 2018

| nominator2 = Government of Ireland

| appointer2 = Michael D. Higgins

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Irish

| spouse =

| children =

| relations = {{Ubl|Declan Costello (Father)|John A. Costello (Grandfather)}}

| education =

| alma_mater = {{Ubl|University College Dublin|University of Oxford|King's Inns}}

| signature =

|}}

Caroline Costello is an Irish judge who has served as President of the Court of Appeal since July 2024 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal since November 2018. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2014 to 2018.

Costello graduated with a BA in Classics and History from University College Dublin in 1982.{{cite web |title=New judges |url=https://www.facebook.com/UCDSchoolofLaw/posts/new-judgescongratulations-to-those-ucd-alumni-who-are-among-the-new-judges-of-th/835371176487208/ |website=UCD School of Law |accessdate=17 May 2019 |archive-date=22 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922223846/https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FUCDSchoolofLaw%2Fposts%2Fnew-judgescongratulations-to-those-ucd-alumni-who-are-among-the-new-judges-of-th%2F835371176487208%2F |url-status=live }} She subsequently attended the University of Oxford and the King's Inns. She became a barrister in 1988 and a senior counsel in 2010. She had a commercial-oriented practice, focusing on commercial law, banking law, and insolvency law.{{cite web |title=Appointments to the High Court |url=https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/appointments-to-the-high-court-4.html |publisher=Irish Government News Service |accessdate=17 May 2019 |date=23 July 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123832/https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/appointments-to-the-high-court-4.html |url-status=live }}

She was appointed to the High Court in September 2014.{{cite web |title=President appoints Ms Caroline Costello, S.C., Ms Aileen Donnelly, S.C., & Mr Seamus Noonan, S.C. |url=https://president.ie/en/diary/details/aras-an-uachtarain-1 |publisher=President.ie |accessdate=17 May 2019 |archive-date=18 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118012807/http://www.president.ie/en/diary/details/aras-an-uachtarain-1 |url-status=live }} She presided over High Court bankruptcy proceedings involving Seán Dunne.{{cite news |title=Judge brands Dunne 'deeply dishonest' as his bankruptcy extended by 12 years |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/judge-brands-dunne-deeply-dishonest-as-his-bankruptcy-extended-by-12-years-37379375.html |accessdate=17 May 2019 |work=Irish Independent |date=3 October 2018 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123832/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/judge-brands-dunne-deeply-dishonest-as-his-bankruptcy-extended-by-12-years-37379375.html |url-status=live }} She served a term as chair of the judicial wing of INSOL Europe, a federation of insolvency lawyers.{{cite web |title=INSOL Europe Annual Conference 2018, Athens |url=https://www.ucc.ie/en/jcoere/newsandevents/insol-europe-annual-conference-2018-athens.html |publisher=University College Cork |accessdate=17 May 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123835/https://www.ucc.ie/en/jcoere/newsandevents/insol-europe-annual-conference-2018-athens.html |url-status=live }} In 2018, she made a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union arising out of an action taken by Max Schrems regarding the EU–US Privacy Shield.{{cite news |last1=Humphries |first1=Conor |last2=Fioretti |first2=Julia |title=EU's top court asked to probe Facebook U.S. data transfers |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy-ireland/eus-top-court-asked-to-probe-facebook-u-s-data-transfers-idUSKBN1HJ1D5 |work=Reuters |date=12 April 2018 |access-date=17 May 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123833/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy-ireland/eus-top-court-asked-to-probe-facebook-u-s-data-transfers-idUSKBN1HJ1D5 |url-status=live }}

She was appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal in November 2018.{{cite web |title=President appoints judges to the Court of Appeal and the High Court |url=https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-appoints-judges-to-the-court-of-appeal-and-the-high-court2 |publisher=President.ie |accessdate=17 May 2019 |archive-date=14 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114162242/https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-appoints-judges-to-the-court-of-appeal-and-the-high-court2 |url-status=live }} Her appointment to the Court of Appeal along with Isobel Kennedy resulted in the first Irish court with a gender balanced number of judges.{{cite web |title=Minister Flanagan welcomes 50/50 gender balance in Court of Appeal |url=https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Minister_Flanagan_welcomes_50_50_gender_balance_in_Court_of_Appeal.html |publisher=Irish Government News Service |accessdate=17 May 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123830/https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Minister_Flanagan_welcomes_50_50_gender_balance_in_Court_of_Appeal.html |url-status=live }}

She is the daughter of the former Attorney General of Ireland and President of the High Court Declan Costello and the granddaughter of

former Taoiseach John A. Costello.{{cite news |title=Two High Court judges named for Court of Appeal |url=https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/legal-analysis/isobel-kennedy/ |accessdate=17 May 2019 |work=Law Society Gazette |date=10 October 2018 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517123835/https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/legal-analysis/isobel-kennedy/ |url-status=live }}