Rights Commission granted permission to intervene in DPP appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was granted permission to intervene in the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against the acquittal of two men charged with IRA membership. The Special Criminal Court had acquitted the men, and the appeal was coming before the Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 19 May 2021.

The Commission will exercise its amicus curiae, or friend of the court, function. The appeal raised questions about fair-trial rights and safeguards for accused people. The Commission said the case involved balancing the public interest in protecting Garda investigations with the requirements of a fair trial under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Special Criminal Court had excluded the belief evidence of a Garda Detective Chief Superintendent after he refused to provide information on the basis of his belief. The court also considered the DPP’s decision that prosecuting counsel would not review the Garda witness’s file to assess whether evidence could be disclosed to the defence. The DPP contended on appeal that the court had erroneously excluded compelling evidence.