The Gazette 1996

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1996

M E D I A

W A T C H

GAZETTE

Lawyers as well as the law targeted in anti-crime backlash

"soulmates" with the criminal and that they "reaped the profits". In response, the Chairman of the Bar Council, James Nugent, said that suggestions that barristers who defend accused persons should be condemned for complicity were "ill-informed, misjudged and dangerous at any time, but particularly in the present climate of understandable fear and confusion which prevails among the general public". Mr. Nugent continued, "It is a sad and frightening reflection of the tone of the present debate that it appears necessary to point out that a barrister who acts to defend an accused person cannot and must not be interpreted as any indication that the barrister condones, approves, aids or abets anything which their client is accused of doing". • THE PENSIONS BOARP GUIDANCE NOTES on "WHISTLEBLOWING" The P e n s i o ns Board has i s s u ed Guidance Notes on f o ot of the P e n s i o ns ( Am e n dm e n t) Act, 1996 which came into effect from 2 July and which includes new statutory pro- visions dealing with compulsory and voluntary reporting to the Pensions Board. The Guidance Notes are intended to provide assistance to those involved in the operation of pension schemes who may be c o v e r ed by the mandatory reporting requirements, and also to pension practitioners and members of the public who may be considering making a voluntary report. Notes are available by subscription and may be ordered from the: C o p i es of the Guidance AN BORD PINSEAN - J

The overwhelming sense of public shock and outrage which followed the murder in Limerick on 7 June 1996 of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe and, in journalist Veronica Guerin on 26th June 1996, have created an absolute political necessity for 'something to be done' about the godfathers of crime who had supposedly moved beyond the reach of the law. A package of legislative measures, unprecedented both in its range and speed of introduction, has been the Government response. The publicly stated position of the Law Society and of others in the legal profession has been one of full support for any reasonable measures, legislative or otherwise, which will assist in fighting the social evil of drug-related crime. However, as the Law Society made clear earlier this year in its opposition to the introduction of new powers of seven-day detention without charge of drug trafficking suspects, there are grave dangers in legislative measures which erode civil liberties and traditional rights of accused persons. This message, that it is the task of the criminal law not merely to convict the guilty but most preciously and essentially also to ensure the acquittal of the innocent, has lacked populist appeal in the atmosphere which has prevailed in recent times. Indeed, in some quarters both in politics and the media there has been an unfortunate inclination to criticise not merely the criminal law but also lawyers themselves. In the Sunday Independent recently, Tony Gregory, TD, said, "All of the main drug dealers have solicitors and accountants advising them on how to make their money anonymous. Those 1 know in my area have little education and would not be of an extraordinarily high IQ. They don't have expertise, but they have the money to buy it". particular, the cold-blooded assassination of investigative

Tony Gregory, TD - Solicitors dealing in "blood money".

Mr. Gregory was highly critical of the legal profession. He expressed the belief that certain solicitors were exploiting the situation and were, in fact, dealing in "blood money". Mr. Gregory added, "I have no doubt that solicitors are getting a substantial financial settlement for getting these people off'. In response, in the same article, the Director General of the Law Society, Ken Murphy, said - "If Mr. Gregory has any evidence that solicitors are engaged in illegal activity, he should bring it immediately to the Gardaf'. Mr. Murphy said the Law Society would support the fullrigors of the law being brought to bear against a solicitor in such a case. "However, the Law Society has no such evidence and believes that care should be taken in the current climate to ensure against unsubstantiated and unfair claims being made which can damage the reputation of individuals and groups in society", he said. In another edition of the Sunday Independent, journalist Declan Lynch suggested that defence counsel were

Information Section, The Pensions Board, Holies Street, Dublin 2. Tel: No. (01) 6762622 Fax: No. (01) 6764714

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