Justice Minister to repeal State's counter-terrorism laws and replace Special Criminal Court
Jim O'Callaghan told Cabinet that he has accepted the recommendations made in a 2023 majority report following an independent review of the Offences Against the State Act.
He said that while the Act has served the State well, 'an updated approach is now required to fit the modern security landscape'.
The Department of Justice said that acceptance in principle of the recommendations 'follows consultation and a close examination of the reports from a policy, governance and legislative perspective'.
The Special Criminal Court
(SCC) is a three-judge criminal court, without a jury, that deals with terrorist and organised crime cases. The court has no jury in order to avoid any potential intimidation of its members.
The court is enabled by the Offences Against the State Acts, the first of which was published in 1939, with subsequent amendments in 1972 and 1998, respectively.
The counter-terrorism legislation was enacted to prosecute members of the IRA and declare any similar organisations unlawful. However, as it is emergency law, it must be renewed each year.
More recently, the Special Criminal Court has been used to deal with the deadly rise in gangland crime and organised criminal enterprises.
The legislation and its court have been criticised by Amnesty International, the United Nations and The Irish Council of Civil Liberties over the last number of decades.
In 2023,
an expert group recommended that the Special Criminal Court
be replaced with a new court that has additional safeguards and transparency.
While the majority report also called for the Offences Against the State Act to be 'repealed in its entirety', a minority review from the same expert group took a different view, saying that a permanent non-jury court would be 'constitutionally inappropriate'.
'Clear direction for reform'
'The Offences against the State Act has served the State well and fulfils a vital role in our criminal justice system. However, an updated approach is now required to fit the modern security landscape,' O'Callaghan said.
Accepting the recommendations of the majority report sets a clear direction for reform.
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O'Callaghan said proposals for reform must be 'thoroughly considered and approached with the utmost care'.
'This is to ensure we do not do anything to undermine the efforts of the authorities with responsibility for countering terrorism and organised crime.'
He also emphasised the continued need for a non-jury court, which was recognised by a majority of the 2023 review group.
'Trial by jury is an important, though not unqualified, right under our Constitution,' he said.
'The Review Group proposal recognises, and it is clear to me as Minister for Justice, that a non-jury court remains necessary to try serious criminal offences in certain exceptional cases where the ordinary courts are inadequate'.
O'Callaghan welcomed the Government's acceptance of the need to renew security-related legislative provisions while proposals for reform are developed.
Act will be renewed for further year
Despite the move towards reform, the Act will have to be renewed again next month for a further year.
The Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 made amendments to the initial acts, as well as creating new offences, while the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 put a number of legislative measures in place to tackle organised crime.
Both Acts provide that certain provisions shall cease to be in operation unless a resolution is passed by each House of the Oireachtas resolving that those provisions should continue.
These provisions are due to expire on 29 June unless they are renewed.
O'Callaghan said it is necessary to renew these legislative provisions while proposals to replace the Offences against the State Acts are being developed, adding that he intends to bring the required resolutions to the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.
'It is the Government's duty to ensure that those tasked with protecting us from this threat have at their disposal the appropriate measures to meet it,' he said.
'The provisions I am seeking to renew are necessary and required to support An Garda Síochána in investigating, disrupting and dismantling the activities of terrorists and criminal gangs.'
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