161 / 196
In any case, the report says, judges should have
regular medical examinations : "Any tests would have
to allow for the fact that failing power could be almost
imperceptible even though nonetheless real. A common
result of arteriosclerosis is loss of memory; even though
th is may be crucial, particularly in a trial judge, the
fact that it may be intermittent might make it hard to
detect."
Many of these proposed reforms rest on the com-
mittee's initial recommendation that solicitors as well as
barristers should be entitled to become judges, and
academic lawyers to become appeal judges. The new
move in this direction which is sanctioned in the Courts
Act is considered too conservative.
Human
—IRI SH S INCER I TY CHALLENGED
Ireland's failure to ratify human rights conventions and
to participate in the U.N. on human rights issues cast
doubts on our sincerity when we appeal loudly to the
U.N. to intervene to protect civil liberties in Northern
Ireland. This point was made yesterday by Mr. Sean
MacBride, S.C., chairman of the Irish United Nations
Association.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Association at
the Tailor's Hall, Back lane, Dublin, to mark United
Nations Day and the International Year to combat
Racism and Racial Discrimination.
"It is fitting that on U.N. Day we should take stock
of the role of the U.N. and of our own role at the U.N.,"
Mr. MacBride said.
"I know it is easy to criticise the U.N. for what it has
not done; 'however, it must be remembered that the
U.N. can only act and make progress to the extent to
which it is encouraged or allowed to do so by govern-
ments. The role of the U.N. Associations throughout
the world should be to create a public opinion that will
influence governments so that they in turn will permit
the U.N. to progress further and more rapidly.
"It is to the credit of the U.N. that we have escaped
so far from having a thermo-nuclear war; the gap
between the last two world wars was only twenty-five
years; for thirty-seven years we have escaped a world
war. Unfortunately, however, we have had many regi-
onal wars. The India-Pakistan war, the Middle East
war, the Korean war and the Indo-China war. We are
lucky that these wars have not, despite the efforts of
the participants involved, developed into worldwide
conflicts. One of the principal tasks of the U.N. will
be to provide machinery that can be used to anticipate
conflicts of this nature, and where they do occur, that
will provide automatic, fact-finding, conciliation and
arbitration machinery. Strange as it may seem, there is
no such mechanism in the U.N. structure; yet it is the
mechanism most generally resorted to in commercial
and domestic conflicts. It is extraordinary, but unfortu-
nately a fact that at no stage has the Vietnam was been
Revival of this bitter controversy between the two
sides of the profession is one cause of the division over
the report on the Council of Justice. But equally, many
members feel strongly that even to suggest judicial
reforms implies criticism, which will weaken public
confidence in the judiciary.
The committee which wrote the report was chaired
by Mr. Peter Webster, Q.C. Among its members were
another Q.C., Mr. Lewis Hawser, and four solicitors,
Mr. Peter Martin, Mr. Philip Kimber, Mr. Denis
Garrett and Mr. Rex Church.
The Sunday Times
(24th October 1971)
Unratified
discussed, or in any way dealt with at the U.N.—save
for such efforts which U. Thant made on his own
initiative. There just was no mechanism for this pur-
pose, which was not subject to the veto of the major
powers.
"It is the smaller and less powerful nations which
have most to gain from a strong, welborganised and
effective U.N. It is their best protection from the
oppression and domination of the major powers. It is
regrettable, but true, that the major powers do not
hesitate to try to impose their will on the smaller and
poorer nations whenever it suits their particular interest
or ambition.
"In this respect there is little to choose between the
various major powers.
"We in Ireland should participate much more acti-
vely in the work of the U.N., particularly in the field of
human rights. We should do so as a small.nation with a
sense of our international responsibility. We have the
experience and the tradition to enable us to give a lead
in matters relating to the protection of human rights.
The promotion of the protection of minorities and of
human rights at the U.N. would also assist us in putting
our own house in order.
"If we envisage seriously the reunification of our
country we must build into our legal and constitu-
tional system, safeguards that will give effective protec-
tion to rights of the minority. This will certainly involve
some constitutional and legislative changes. Such chan-
ges should be made in the light of the internationally-
recognised laws for the protection of human rights.
"It is regrettable, but true, that our Government has
a bad record at the U.N. Accordingly, we are in a
somewhat invidious position when we run to the U.N.
to seek assistance in regard to discrimination in Northern
Ireland or in regard to the violations of human rights
by British forces in Northern Ireland. It is not clear
whether this is due to Government policy, to obstruc-
tion by departmental officials or to the somnolent
inertia of our bureaucracy.
"On 21 December 1965 the General Assembly of the
U.N. unanimously adopted by 106 votes for, none
Rights Laws Left
163