Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE’RE STANDING WITH SURVIVORS
SOLIDARITY Protesters at the rally in Dublin yesterday AS a practitioner and academic within the criminal justice system I have been involved in more than 20 sex offence trials before Dublin’s Central Criminal Court.
It is time to move away from the verdict and let the parties involved on both sides rebuild their lives.
All criminal trials and proceedings are stressful and challenging experiences for all the parties involved, primarily the alleged victim(s) and accused.
It is still a difficult time for barristers, police, prison officers, jurors and the courts service.
It is stress and anxiety that is indescribable to those who are outside looking in.
The Republic, England, Northern Ireland and Wales operate a similar common law criminal process with slight variations in practices in each jurisdiction.
The system has areas of contention but the Republic’s criminal trial is one of the most meticulous in the world that holds integrity and fairness to its core.
The question is: Why is it now believed the criminal justice system on this island is inherently flawed?
Remember, if we accept the original complaint without testing its validity in open court we may as well disband the jury system, rewind 400 years, change our system to that seen in Europe and South Africa and leave the liberty of our citizens wholly in the hands of the Stateappointed judge.
Can something improve in this process so alleged victims and complainants can have added protections?
Did the rallies of recent days help this? No, because they focused on the validity of the verdict instead of influencing some positive change.
The Republic in the past 25 years has seen enormous change and improvements for victims of sexual crimes through legislation (Criminal Evidence Act
1992, Sexual Offences Act 2006 and
2017).
Finally in the Republic we have media laws far more restrictive than our common law neighbours which again puts us ahead in terms of victim protection and fairness in proceedings.
So take a step back, inform yourselves before commenting or criticising.
It is not perfect and it can never be because of the nature of what is to be decided upon.