Human Rights in Ireland

Last week a new blog relating to human rights issues in Northern Ireland. RightsNI has been spearheaded by members of both CAJ (the Committee on the Administration of Justice) and Amnesty International. It aims to provide a space for discussion of human rights issues of interest to Northern Ireland. The blog is very practically driven with most of the range of regular contributors being practitioners in the field. You can read about the authors here but they include members of CAJ, Amnesty, the Human Rights Consortium, the PILS Project, EAPPI, Disability Action and PPR, as well as a number of academics from both Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster.

Post so far have considered the ongoing legal aid row in Northern Ireland which sees most criminal defendants currently struggling to get legal representation, the intersection between art and human rights, and a piece by Mairead Collins who is currently working in the West Bank. The diversity of experiences behind the blog ensure that it will be highly engaging and should be of interest to HRinI readers. Have a look, set up an RSS feed, like on facebook or follow on twitter!

In the midst of the hacking scandal you may have noticed that both Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks have both been arrested and released on police bail. Just weeks prior to these arrests quite a legal storm brewed in relation to police bail.

Police bail is a system whereby a person who has been arrested by the police, but usually not charged, is released from police custody on the making of certain undertakings that they will return to police custody at a stated time. Coulson, for instance, was released on 8 July until October. Read Full Post »

On 21 June, as part of their 30th Anniversary celebrations, CAJ will host a conference on the issue of counter terrorism and human rights in Belfast. The conference aims to address the following questions: 30 years later and after so many years of peace in Northern Ireland, why do we still have emergency law?  Is reliance on sweeping powers in the so-called ‘war on terror’ in danger of becoming normalised? What effect does this have on targeted communities?  Is respect for the rule of law undermined by excessive legislation so that the attempt to counter violence undermines its own rationale? For full details and to register your attendance for this one day event click here.

Rosemary Nelson, a lawyer who had acted in several high profile republican cases, was killed by a car bomb at her home in Lurgan, Co Antrim in 1999. The Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility. Threats on her life had been made for a number of years. Clients of Ms Nelson’s had long alleged that members of the RUC had threatened them. Many allegations were made of Security Forces being involved in her killing, including allegations of collusion. In 2004 Judge Cory in his report called for an inquiry into her death. That inquiry was established in 2004, chaired by Sir Michael Morland with the following term of reference (as amended in 2005): Read Full Post »

The BBC is reporting that a 21 year old man has died in Maghaberry Prison. Aaron Hogg was on remand. He was found in his cell yesterday morning. What raises even more concern about this tragedy is that it follows on from two other deaths in custody this month.

Earlier this month two young people committed suicide in Hydebank Wood. Samuel Carson was aged 19 and Frances McKeown aged 23. The BBC reports that ligatures were removed from both cells. The deaths are said to be unconnected. The Director of the Prison Service, Colin McConnell, said in his statement that in the past the staff had had ’cause for concern in terms of their behaviour and demeanour.’ They were not considered at risk in recent weeks and so were been attended to the same as all inmates. Three inquiries will now be held into the deaths: the coroner, the PSNI and the Prisoner Ombudsman. Read Full Post »

Today the Supreme Court of the UK is due to give its ruling in the landmark case of MacCartney, McDermott and Adams discussed on this blog previously. At the centre of this case is the meaning of the term miscarriage of justice and whether it is limited to cases where a person can prove their innocence. In Ireland the courts have adopted a wide definition of the term, stating that where there has been a grave defect in the administration of the justice (which could be interpreted as very serious wrongdoing on the part of the State), this could amount to a miscarriage of justice. The UK Court of Appeal has however, been reticent to take a similar line.

In each of these cases the appellant is not in a position to prove their innocence (as is exceptionally difficult to do for any appellant) but there are serious concerns as to how the investigation and trials were conducted. Read Full Post »

It’s effectively gone viral on the internet that last Thursday, members of an Garda Síochána, while discussing the arrest of a protestor joked about getting immigration on her and raping her. It beggars belief. Excerpts from the transcript have been posted on the Irish Times and audio clips are available here. “Hold it, give me your name and address there or I’ll rape you.”

These guards have joked about immigration, rape and the protestors involved in the dispute. Sure, police organisations are pretty macho places, and lots of research has been done on what’s called cop canteen culture – how police officers speak to each other in the canteen. It’s all about banter, bluster and bravado Read Full Post »

The Irish Times today reports that Noirin O’Sullivan was yesterday appointed as Deputy Commissioner of an Garda Síochána. This is the second most senior rank in the Irish police force and it is the highest rank that a female member has achieved. There are two Deputy Commissioners. Nacie Rice occupies the position with responsibility for strategy and change management. Noirin O’Sullivan assumes the role with responsibility for operational policing and national security, the position previously held by the recently appointed Commissioner, Martin Callinan.

With the Irish Times suggesting that she may in time become the first female Commissioner it is worth reflecting on the difficulties which women have experienced in progressing within an Garda Síochána. Read Full Post »

In conjunction with the School of Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast, the Committee on the Administration of Justice is running a seminar series this semester on the topic ‘The Legacy of the Past: Exploring the Challenge of Institutional Reform and Cultural Change.’ The series kicked off last week with an excellent discussion of issues relating to prison reform in Northern Ireland, led by Dr Jacqueline Monahan of CAJ, who outlined findings from a CAJ report on the issue, published recently. Read Full Post »

When it comes to human rights instruments, miscarriages of justice occupy somewhat of a nebulous position. A miscarriage of justice occurring is not of itself a breach of a persons human rights. It may involve a breach of one of many rights (most commonly the right to a fair trial) but it can happen that a court finds someone has been the subject of miscarriage of justice and no rights have been breached. Take for example the 2009 Irish case of Feichín Hannon. No claim was ever made that the police did anything wrong or that the trial was improperly conducted. A witness lied and the jury believed her. And a man was convicted of sexual assault. Years later she recanted and a miscarriage of justice was declared. No rights breached. Read Full Post »