The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on costs in Judge Brian Curtin's failed bid to halt an Oireachtas Committee's investigation into his affairs.
Following a brief hearing in the seven-judge court Chief Justice John L Murray today said the cross-party inquiry could continue.
A decision on costs from Judge Curtin's 15-month legal bid to close down the committee will be made later this week.
Judge Curtin's home was raided by gardaí on May 2002, six months after he was appointed to the Circuit Court. His computer and various documents were seized.
After being charged with possession of child pornography, he was acquitted in April 2004 by direction of the trial judge after it emerged the warrant under which his computer was seized was out of date.
Judge Curtin lost his legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Oireachtas Committee last month, with legal sources estimating the court case has cost in the region of €500,000.
The committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Dennis O'Donovan, has the power to gather evidence on the judge's alleged misbehaviour. The seven-strong cross-party panel will compile a report for TDs and senators before a vote is taken on whether to remove the judge from the bench.
The committee will meet in private tomorrow, the third time it has sat since the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the judge's challenge. That decision was the first time in the history of the State that the courts had been asked to rule on how a judge may be lawfully removed from office.
The committee now hopes to report on the judge's personal life before both houses of the Oireachtas to decide whether he is unfit to administer justice. Members have been given the power to ask Judge Curtin to hand over his computer, but it is unclear if he will do so.