The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has been granted liberty by the Supreme Court to exercise its amicus curiae function (‘friend of the court’) in the joined cases of The People (at the suit of the DPP) vs Caolan Smyth and The People (at the suit of the DPP) vs Gary McAreavey concerning the admissibility of evidence and the right to a fair trial.
The Commission will assist the Court on whether it is appropriate to develop the rules on the admissibility of illegally and unconstitutionally obtained evidence, as set out in DPP v J.C. In this case, the Court of Appeal endorsed a balancing of the rights engaged, when assessing the admissibility of the evidence. The question arises as to whether it is consistent with the exclusionary rule, set out in DPP v J.C., to carry out such a proportionality or balancing of rights assessment, if evidence is found to have been gathered with a conscious or reckless disregard of rights.
The case will be heard over two days in the Supreme Court in April.
Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated:
“This case raises important issues regarding the administration of justice and the protection of fair trial rights under the Constitution and EU law. We look forward to assisting the court in considering these important matters”.
ENDS/
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Clarkin, IHREC Communications Manager,
01 852 9641 / 087 468 7760
sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie
Follow us on twitter @_IHREC
Editor’s Note
As the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is now formally involved in the proceedings of The People (at the suit of the DPP) vs Caolan Smyth and The People (at the suit of the DPP) vs Gary McAreavey before the Supreme Court, we will make no further comment at this time.
Where written submissions are made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in amicus curiae cases, they will be made available on www.ihrec.ie after the case has been heard.
The amicus curiae function of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
The Commission’s functions under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 include that of applying for liberty to appear as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) before the superior courts in proceedings that involve, or are concerned with, the human rights or equality rights of any person.
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.