Vol. 530 No. 1
52 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will make a statement on the implications of the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that provisions of the Offences Against the State legislation under which detained persons can be charged with failure to account for their movements were found to be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights. [3172/01]
The decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases in question, Heaney and McGuinness v. Ireland and Quinn v. Ireland, deal with the position of section 52 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 in the particular circumstances where the law in relation to the use of inculpatory statements was unclear. This was prior to the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of National Irish Bank of 21 January, 1999, which clarified the law generally in this area.
In accordance with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government has initiated a wide-ranging review of the Offences Against the State Acts. A committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. Justice Hederman has been established for that purpose and is to report to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform with recommendations for reform of the law in this area. It is expected that the committee will present its report to me in the near future. I am sure that these judgments of the Court of Human Rights will be taken into account by the committee in that context.
