The High Court has rejected applications by two life prisoners transferred from the UK who sought an independent tribunal to review their continued detention in Ireland.
Jonathon Caffrey, held in Portlaoise Prison, and John Coughlan, then in the Training Unit at Mountjoy Prison, had both received life sentences for murder in the UK. Their sentencing courts had recommended minimum tariff periods of 12 and 14 years respectively before release could be considered.
Both men were later transferred to Ireland under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995. Their UK tariff periods had expired by March 2010. They argued that continued detention should therefore be reviewed by an independent and impartial tribunal with power to order release, rather than through Ireland’s Parole Board and Minister for Justice system.
Kearns P. rejected that argument. The court held that, once transferred, enforcement and management of the sentences were governed by Irish law. Under Irish law, a life sentence for murder remains a wholly punitive sentence for the prisoner’s lifetime. Temporary release does not alter that sentence. It is an executive privilege rather than a right and may be granted or withheld by the Minister.
The court also rejected claims under Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It held that Article 5(4) did not require an independent parole tribunal for these sentences because their continued detention was not based on a separate preventative element arising after expiry of a tariff.
The judgment further found that Irish life sentences were not irreducible for Article 3 purposes because the system allowed consideration of remission, commutation and temporary release.
As an additional ground, the court held that both applicants had accepted transfer to Ireland knowing that their sentences would thereafter be managed under Irish law. It found that waiver and acquiescence would therefore have barred relief even if their principal arguments had otherwise succeeded.
All relief sought was refused.