Extending the Admissibility of Hearsay Evidence. Criminal Justice Overhaul.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Sunday October 22, 2006 20:08 by Chris Murray

Mc Dowell gets his Fingers on the the Criminal Justice System

Rebalancing Criminal Justice-Remarks Made by Tanaiste in Limerick.

The Tanaiste is up-grading the statutes to do away with the Right to Silence, though he asserts that the right to the presumption of innocence and trial by jury will remain.

The Killer in his press release is this Quote:

'Many of the legal principles and values have become the cornerstones of our law and are almost sacrosant in how we perceive and interact with them. Those same principles have originated and developed from a different era when many defendants could not read or write and it was necessary for the legal system to devise means and ways(!) to ensure that safeguards were available'.

http://www.justice.ie

So He is reviewing the right to silence-which is phrased as the right to silence against self-incrimination.

It does not say how 'truths' will be extracted...

Since it is enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights (article 6), he has some work to do.

' Has the time come to consider broadening out the circumstances which an inference can be drawn from the failure of the accused to respond to fair questioning recorded, as sufficent proof of guilt-but as corraborative of other evidence of guilt?

Things remaining (apparently) are:

The right to open-trial, jury trial and adversial trial-where the judge does not act as an' inquistitor'.

"but the constitutional right to trial by jury and to trial in due course of law exists to serve the common good and not as an end in itself".

Other aspects of the Criminal Justice Law to be reviewed includes:' Extending the admissibility of hearsay evidence'

The whole text of the speech-which is more a warning shot across our collective bows is on www.justice.ie , the heads of the Bill have not been launched, fanfared or published.

It also looks like more constitutional reforms or changes would accompany any changes to the statutes.

The last text released from the Dept of Justice was on the 10th of October, when Mr Mc Dowell signed the Protection aspect of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2006 into Irish Law. This was under an EU directive and had to be Transposed into Law on that date.

The Corrosive aspects of the Bill in relation to Human Rights, such as the issuing of Bio-metric ID's have not yet been transposed into Irish Law.