The use of informers has been criticised by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) recently. The GSOC is investigating claims that some members of the Gardai permitted the continuation of serious criminality in exchange for information on other criminal actors. As I’ve written before, the use of undercover police officers and informers is fraught with problems, in terms of the(…)
Human Rights in Ireland welcomes this guest post from Dr Eimear Spain. Eimear in a lecturer in law in University of Limerick. Marie Fleming, her family and supporters were undoubtedly disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court this week when seven judges of the Supreme Court dismissed her appeal and ruled that there was(…)
We are delighted to welcome this guest post from Lucy Welsh. Lucy is a criminal defence solicitor in Canterbury, England. She is also currently completing her PhD on the issue of legal aid in the criminal justice system and teaches criminal law at the University of Kent. The system of legal aid in criminal proceedings(…)
‘I’ve got one thing to say to you, my boy … you can’t trust the Irish, they are all liars … and that’s what you have to remember, so just don’t forget it’. Death cannot constrain the effervescent charm of Margaret Thatcher. Or maybe Peter Mandelson, who revealed this gobbet of bile to(…)
The European Court of Human Rights has recently decided a number of important cases on the scope of Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In its seminal decision in Siliadin v France (Judgment of 26 July 2005)(previously discussed by David Keane on Human Rights in Ireland here) the Court confirmed that States(…)
The auguries for “Marching Season” in Northern Ireland look bleak. Months of loyalist protests against Belfast City Council’s decision to restrict the flying of the Union Flag are fuelling tensions. Naomi Long, the Alliance MP for East Belfast (who has been at the centre of the storm since her Party backed the current arrangements regarding(…)
We are delighted to welcome this guest post from Dr Jacqueline Horan, a Senior Lecturer at Melbourne Law School and member of the Victorian Bar (academic) whose research focuses on juries. Dr Horan has recently published a book entitled ‘Juries in the 21st Century’ (Federation Press, 2012). Her blog post here relates to the trial of Vicky(…)
Human Rights in Ireland welcomes this guest post from Prof. Brice Dickson and Prof. Colin Harvey , Human Rights Centre, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast. Advice on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, submitted to the Secretary of State by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in 2008, was roundly rejected by the(…)
It took a long time to get to the McAleese Report ; the report of an independent inquiry set up in response to UNCAT Recommendations in 2011, investigating the extent of State involvement in the Magdalene Laundries regime. The Report finds that: Sean Aylward and others were entirely wrong to claim that the Magdalene Laundries were(…)
Hart Publishing has just published Organised Crime and the Law and the Law: A Comparative Analysis by Human Rights in Ireland regular contributor Dr Liz Campbell . Further details on the book are below. Readers will be delighted to learn that Hart has offered a 20% discount off the retail price to readers of HR(…)
