Sinéad Gibney

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will exercise its amicus curiae function in DPP v. RK and LM, which is coming before the Court of Appeal.

This is the first time that the Commission has sought to be joined in a criminal appeal before the Court of Appeal, though its predecessor, the Irish Human Rights Commission, intervened in Dunne v Donohoe in Strasbourg two decades ago.

The case involves an appeal by the DPP following the acquittal by the Special Criminal Court of two men charged with IRA membership and raises issues around the rights of accused persons and procedural safeguards required for a fair trial.

The Special Criminal Court had excluded the belief evidence of a Garda Detective Chief Superintendent given pursuant to section 3(2) of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1972 following his refusal to provide information on the basis of his belief.

The court also took into consideration that the DPP had decided that prosecuting counsel would not review the file of the Garda witness in order to assess if any disclosure of evidence could be made to the defence.

Appealing the ruling of the Special Criminal Court, the DPP contends that the court erroneously excluded compelling evidence.

The Commission said significant human rights issues arise in such cases including the appropriate balance to be struck between the vital public interest in protecting Garda investigations and the requirements of a fair trial under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney said: “The Commission is exercising our amicus curiae function in this case in light of the important human rights issues arising. The determination of the appeal may have a significant impact in future cases.

“The Commission can assist the Court in seeking to examine the proper balance that must be struck between protecting the public interest and the requirements of a fair trial.”