Government must commit to bring Ireland’s entire justice system in line with human rights law
21 June 2023
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) welcomes the publication this morning of the majority and minority reports of the Independent Review Group into the Offences against the State Acts.
There is strong consensus in both reports on a number of issues and while it is positive that the Minister for Justice has committed to consider them, it is imperative that the Government commit to immediately implement many of those reforms and proper consideration of the ongoing human rights issues highlighted by the minority.
Liam Herrick, Executive Director of ICCL said:
“The Independent Review Group reports are a timely and crucial intervention on the operation of a deeply problematic Court that undermines the status of our entire justice system as fair and human rights compliant.
“ICCL welcomes the key recommendation from the whole of the Review Group that the Offences against the State Acts must be repealed. This is probably the most important recommendation on which there is consensus. This is a clear indictment of successive governments which have retained the Court without reform and even expanded a legal regime which is fundamentally at odds with human rights standards.
“The Government must now commit to the implementation of the Group’s recommendations with a clear timeframe in place, or the report risks being consigned to the same black hole as the last review report in 2002.”
There are a number of recommendations which ICCL believes could be immediately implemented. The review group highlighted the lack of data about the operation of the Special Criminal Court, which impacted on its ability to conduct its work. An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Courts Service could start proper data collection tomorrow. Equally, written judgments could be made a requirement of the Court immediately, in line with a key recommendation from the group.
Other recommendations supported by both the majority and minority could be implemented next week when the legislation is due for renewal at the Oireachtas. For example, the removal of certain offences that are automatically tried at the Court, known as “scheduled offences”, could be removed from the legislation.
The key difference between the majority and minority relate to what the current system should be replaced with. ICCL agrees with the minority that the suggestion to put in place a permanent non-jury court would fundamentally undermine the constitutional right to a jury trial and would stretch the meaning of the emergency provisions of the Constitution beyond credibility.
Doireann Ansbro, Head of Legal and Policy at ICCL said:
“We maintain that the right to a jury trial is a fundamental constitutional right and we consider that if a new non-jury court is proposed on a permanent basis beyond any consideration of an emergency, this must be put to the people of Ireland in a referendum because it requires a change to the Constitution
“ICCL is also deeply disappointed to see the proposal from the majority for the retention of the most problematic elements of the Offences against the State Acts including retention of the rule that a Garda’s “belief” can form part of the evidence against an accused person and the system by which secret (privileged) evidence is used at trials. These are issues of fair trial rights where Ireland is completely at odds with Northern Ireland and other comparable jurisdictions.
“On the question of who decides to send cases to a non-jury court, the majority proposes some additional safeguards for the current system, but the minority provides a much more compelling argument for why this should always be a decision for a judge.
“We call on Government to give full consideration to the human rights concerns raised by the minority in their report and to ensure that the right to a fair trial is the cornerstone of any new programme of reform.”
Ends
Available for comment:
- Liam Herrick, Executive Director, ICCL
- Doireann Ansbro, Head of Legal and Policy, ICCL
For media queries: ruth.mccourt@iccl.ie / 087 415 7162