Commission notes Supreme Court ruling in case concerning the admissibility of evidence in criminal proceedings

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) noted the judgment in the 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, reached on 17 June by the Supreme Court. The Commission had been joined to the case in its amicus curia (‘friend of the court’) function. The cases centred on the admissibility of telephone data as evidence in a criminal trial, in circumstances where the data was retained and accessed under a piece of legislation that has been held to be in breach of European Union law. At a previous ruling, the Court of Appeal found that the evidence should have been admitted, endorsing the reasoning of the Special Criminal Court, which held that any interference with a right to privacy must be balanced against the competing interest of the common good. On Monday, the Supreme Court in a majority judgment held that the Special Criminal Court did not err in admitting the traffic and location evidence. Judge Hogan delivered a dissenting judgment. The judgments of the Supreme Court are available at Judgments | The Courts Service of Ireland Deirdre Malone, Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated,

 “We are grateful to the Supreme Court for joining the Commission as amicus in these cases, and we will now consider it’s ruling in detail.”   

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

You can read our Legal Submissions on this case by clicking the link below Submissions of Amicus Curiae in the 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

Amicus Curiae

The function of amicus curiae is an important legal power of the Commission. It allows us to address the court in a non-partisan role, on issues concerning human rights and equality that have wider consequences for society in general. Recently, we have used this power to assist the courts on various human rights and equality issues in the public interest, including on the right to a fair trial, immigration, the use of search warrants and anti-social behaviour orders.

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.