13 December 2024 — ICCL recently made a submission to the Public Consultation on Jury Reform. Trial by jury is a fundamental procedural right and an essential prerequisite to a fair trial. It is the most effective shield an accused person has against the power of the State, and we have campaigned for decades on its protection. Our submission addresses three issues raised in the Consultation Paper: jury tampering; capacity to carry out the functions of a juror; and jury selection.
ICCL endorses:
-
The position of the minority report of the Offences Against the State Acts Review Group, which recommends “reasonable steps” to prevent jury tampering and intimidation on a case-by-case basis, to include the facilitation of remote juries, anonymised jury lists, and/or the transfer of jury trials to a different location;
-
The Law Reform Commission's recommendation that individuals should be presumed to have capacity to carry out the functions of a juror and, where necessary, assessed on a case-by-case basis and subsequently provided with reasonable accommodations; and
- The Law Reform Commission's recommendation that jury panels be based on the register of electors for Dáil, European and local elections, noting that non-Irish citizens are eligible to vote in local elections.