On 7 June 2011, the Smithwick tribunal outlined 214 witnesses they planned to call to give evidence: 107 serving and former gardaí, 42 serving and former RUC/PSNI officers, and 65 civilians. Meanwhile, an exchange of letters between tribunal chairman Peter Smithwick and justice minister Alan Shatter was published. In brief, Shatter wanted the tribunal to… Continue reading Missing witnesses
Tag: judicial independence
For the record
Last week, in response to the proposed referendum on pay cuts for judges, the courts.ie website uploaded a PDF with the not-very-inspiring title “Memorandum on the proposed referendum on article 35.5 of the constitution”. I’ve already written what I think about the rows over judges’ salaries here and here, but this post is prompted by… Continue reading For the record
Basic Law
In a attempt to appear radical, Fine Gael are pitching a series of constitutional amendments if elected into government. Some are cosmetic. Reducing the president’s term of office from seven to five years, the right to petition the Oireachtas. Some are welcome. More powers to (some) Oireachtas committees. Some are sheer populism. Cut the number… Continue reading Basic Law
Just Say No
‘All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law’, our constitution grandly proclaims. Those words are clear cut. Among other things, I take them to mean that everyone should be pay their taxes, with no distinction in how citizens are treated. Which leads me to the conclusion, judges should pay their taxes.… Continue reading Just Say No