Sir, – Liam Herrick provides us with a long list of objections from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties to the continued use of the Special Criminal Court (Letters, January 19th).
However, he seems to gloss over the main issue, which is the intimidation of witnesses, particularly in trials involving the activities of members of organised crime groups, by suggesting that the protection of jurors can be achieved by alternatives such as “anonymous, secret or remote juries”.
It is important to draw attention to the fact that in the UK, our nearest neighbour with a common law legal system like our own, the government there has included a provision for the introduction of remote juries under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
However, this proposal has been met with strong opposition from the Bar Council and the Law Society in England and Wales on the basis that it could have precisely the opposite effect of alienating juries.
It has pointed out that remote juries could jeopardise the security of court proceedings, alienate participants, involve substantial additional expense to the taxpayer and require the introduction expensive and sophisticated new technology and information technology (IT) systems.
It has also warned that the the impact of such a proposal on the basic principle of access to justice was unclear and unproven.
In response, the UK government has accepted that a lot more work needs to be done.
Until all these matters have been fully addressed, it seems prudent, given the scale of the problem here in Ireland, for the State to use all reasonable legal options at its disposal to prosecute successfully those organised crime groups, dealing in murder. drugs and firearms trafficking, armed robberies and money laundering, and which remain a scourge and threat to Irish society. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN
McDONALD,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.