Paul Murphy: Warns against permanent non-jury Special Criminal Court
Paul Murphy spoke against government plans to make non-jury Special Criminal Court arrangements permanent and said he will vote against the legislation. He warned the measures would curtail civil liberties, risk unconstitutional non-jury trials and would chill freedom of speech through proposed terrorism offences.
The Special Criminal Court was established supposedly on an emergency basis 53 years ago and the original emergency was officially declared over in 1995. The Minister now wants to make non-jury courts permanent, a step Murphy said is very likely unconstitutional and should be put to a referendum.
Murphy said this year's reports show the use of non-jury courts is at an all-time high, mainly for so-called gangland crimes. He noted that 152 arrests were made under the gangland provision of the Offences Against the State Act last year, 40 more than the previous year, and that 90% were not for directing a criminal organisation but for participating in, contributing to or committing an offence — all automatically tried in the Special Criminal Court without a jury and with belief or opinion evidence from senior Gardaí accepted as fact.
He warned the Criminal Justice Terrorist Offences Amendment Bill would criminalise "glorifying by praise or celebration a terrorist activity" and have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and artistic expression. Murphy referenced the British government's recent decision to prescribe the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation and argued similar measures here could see protesters or supporters convicted of membership without the right to a jury.
Murphy said major human rights organisations — the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the United Nations — have condemned the denial of basic fair-trial features. He pointed to a majority report on reform recommending abolition of the current system of scheduled offences and asked whether the Minister supports that recommendation, noting alternatives such as remote juries exist in other jurisdictions.
Special Criminal Court history
The Special Criminal Court was established supposedly on an emergency basis 53 years ago and the original emergency was officially declared over in 1995. The Minister now wants to make non-jury courts permanent, a step Murphy said is very likely unconstitutional and should be put to a referendum.
Rising use and offences tried
Murphy said this year's reports show the use of non-jury courts is at an all-time high, mainly for so-called gangland crimes. He noted that 152 arrests were made under the gangland provision of the Offences Against the State Act last year, 40 more than the previous year, and that 90% were not for directing a criminal organisation but for participating in, contributing to or committing an offence — all automatically tried in the Special Criminal Court without a jury and with belief or opinion evidence from senior Gardaí accepted as fact.
Concerns about terrorism laws and free speech
He warned the Criminal Justice Terrorist Offences Amendment Bill would criminalise "glorifying by praise or celebration a terrorist activity" and have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and artistic expression. Murphy referenced the British government's recent decision to prescribe the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation and argued similar measures here could see protesters or supporters convicted of membership without the right to a jury.
Human rights objections and reform recommendations
Murphy said major human rights organisations — the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the United Nations — have condemned the denial of basic fair-trial features. He pointed to a majority report on reform recommending abolition of the current system of scheduled offences and asked whether the Minister supports that recommendation, noting alternatives such as remote juries exist in other jurisdictions.
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Transcript
Deputy Paul Murphy. Another year, another cursory debate, and then another vote through tonight of draconian legislation I will speak against, I vote against, but the Government will vote in favour, and the majority, the vast majority of the Opposition, will vote in favour of curtailing basic civil liberties. Special Criminal Court was established supposedly on an emergency basis 53 years ago. The original emergency for which it was established was officially declared over in 1995, yet these dip-block courts have persisted even after they have been abolished in the North. The Minister now wants to make non-jury courts permanent, very likely unconstitutional. Will he commit to putting this question to the people and holding a referendum on whether we want to have permanent non-jury courts? This year's reports on the Special Criminal Court show that the use of non-jury courts is at an all-time high. Right now they are mainly being used for so-called gangland crimes, but there is nothing to stop an increase in their use against a politically motivated definition of terrorism in the future. Over the last few days, the British government has announced that the direct action, non-violent group Palestine Action in Britain is going to be prescribed as a terrorist organisation. That means anyone who doesn't do anything but simply says, I support Palestine Action as I do, could be faced with time in prison. Incredible. If the same happened here, we could see protesters against genocide being convicted of a membership of a terrorist organisation on the say-so of a senior Garda without the right to a jury. Tomorrow, the government is introducing the Criminal Justice Terrorist Offences Amendment Bill. It will criminalise, quote, glorifying by praise or celebration a terrorist activity, just like the British state is trying to do with kneecap. It will have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and artistic expression. It shows the authoritarian direction that this government, the British state, Trump and the European Union as a whole are headed. 152 arrests were made under the gangland provision of the Offences Against the State Act last year. 40 more than the previous year. 90% of those were not for directing a criminal organisation but for participating in, contributing to or committing an offence for a criminal organisation. All of that is automatically tried in the Special Criminal Court with no right to a jury of your peers, with belief or opinion evidence from senior Gardaí accepted as fact and effectively no right to silence. Very, very basic features of what it is to have a jury system, a fair justice system being denied. Regardless of who is involved, that is a travesty of justice condemned by all major human rights organisations. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International, the state's own Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the United Nations. Even the majority report on reforming the Special Criminal Court, which the Minister says he supports, recommended that, quote, the current system of scheduled offences, under which certain offences are automatically tried by a non-jury court, should be abolished. Can the Minister tell us now if he supports that recommendation? And can you explain why these draconian provisions are uniquely needed in Ireland, but not in all other countries where jury intimidation, where jury tampering can also exist, but are dealt with work through other means. For example, the use of remote juries, which defends the right of people charged with serious offences to have a trial of their own peers. No one who supports the most basic principles of democracy should support this motion or should support creating a new permanent non-jury court. It flies in the face of the basic ideas of civil liberties, basic ideas of justice, basic ideas of democracy.