Courts / Ireland / Report

Second barrister appointed to help with inspection of seized FAI documents

Summary

The High Court confirmed the appointment of a second independent barrister to assist in examining documents seized from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) offices. Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds accepted that Patrick Mair BL will join Niall Nolan BL to help identify material covered by Legal Professional Privilege (LPP). The two independent persons will prepare a report for the court to aid the judge in determining which of the seized documents are privileged. Their work is expected to be completed by June. Ex-FAI CEO John Delaney, a notice party in the proceedings, has claimed LPP over 3,500 documents, while the FAI claims privilege over 1,000 documents. Any document deemed privileged cannot be used by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) in its criminal investigation. The ODCE, represented by Kerida Naidoo SC, applied to the court to determine the status of these files following the seizure of approximately 280,000 files in February 2020. The judge noted that other matters remain outstanding, including Mr Delaney's application to have the hearing held in private. This 'in camera' application, due to be heard later this month, stems from concerns that media reports will expose private and legally privileged information. The application is opposed by Sunday Times News, supported by other media outlets including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Examiner, and the Journal.ie. The matter has been before the court on several occasions over the last 13 months.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Second barrister appointed to help with inspection of seized FAI documents. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• February 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2021-03-03 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report