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Tue 11 Nov 2004Judge pressed to clarify why he retired earlyThe Labour Party has called on the High Court judge, Mr Justice Matthew P. Smith, to clarify the reason he decided to resign from the bench 13 months before he was officially due to retire.It emerged that Mr Justice Smith, who is also chairman of the Standards in Public Offices Commission (SIPO) - the political standards watchdog - tendered his resignation to the President, Mrs McAleese, last week.