194 / 336
liberty. A reinterpretation of Art. 58 would be of
great importance so far as the law providing for inter-
ment is concerned. Whether or not the decision to
introduce interment should be left entirely to the Leg-
islature is outside the consideration of this paper. It
seems very doubtful whether the Transitory provisions
of the Constitution have any effect now as they are no
longer published in the current text of the Constitution.
Senator Mary T. W. Robinson is seconding the
vote of thanks to the Auditor said:—
The greatest safeguard to personal liberty in a
country is the consciousness on the part of its citi-
zens of the value of liberty and their awareness of the
danger of unnecessary inroads being made on it. In
Ireland, unfortunately, we tolerate substantial inter-
ference with the constitutional guarantee of personal
liberty through an unjustified extension of the state
of national emergency proclaimed by the resolution
possed by the Oireachtas on 3 September 1939 which
has never been rescinded.
Whatever problems and difficulties may beset this
country at present, have nothing to do with the
national emergency declared because of the outbreak
of the Second World War. It is time we admitted
this honestly, and put an end to 3 6 i years of suspension
of the full guarantee of civil rights in this country.
We should also learn our lesson: that any future con-
stitutional provision of this sort must contain within
itself a strict time limit, when it will lapse automatic-
ally unless renewed for a further specified period.
The Oire?chtas appears reluctant to put an end to
this absurd 40-year emergency. A motion to that effect
which I had tabled with the support of Senator John
Horgan lay on the Order Paper of the Senate for two
years without being taken. Recently, the Taoiseach ex-
pressly refused to consider such a motion in the Dail.
The only possible course would be an action before
the High Court for a declaration that the national
emergency has ended —
despite the fact that no
motions to this effect have been passed by both Houses
— because there is no substance to that national
emergency as proclaimed in 1939 and its continued
existence abridges the scope of the fundamental rights
clauses of the Constitution. Under Art. 40.3 (1): "The
State guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as
possible, by its laws to defend and vindicate the per-
sonal rights of the citizen." To maintain an artificial
state of emergency when the cause of it has long since
disappeared is to dilute the concept of personal lib-
erty and thereby to fail to defend and vindicate the
personal rights of the citizen.
In any case, if the formal protection of personal lib-
erty under the Constitution is to become a reality for
all citizens, it will be necessary for the Courts to in-
terpret in a more creative and dynamic way the pro-
visions of the
Criminal Justice (Legal
Aidi
Act
1962.
The District Court is
empowered
to grant a certificate
of free legal aid in appropriate circumstances on ap-
plication being made to it. However, the Court itself
should go further and inform any person coming
before it on a criminal charge who appears likely to
fall within the provisions of the Act of his
right
to apply
for such a certificate.
The atmosphere and procedure before a court are
intimidating and confusing to the lay person; and
surveys have shown that the person represented by
a solicitor or counsel is much more likely to avail of
his right to bail etc. In principle, in order to ensure
the reality of the guarantee of personal liberty, no
person should be interrogated at a Garda station or
'brought before a Court without having a professional
lawyer present to represent him who understands the
rules of natural and constitutional justice, the pro-
cedures which must be adopted and the rights of the
citizen in the circumstances. At present, the greatest
inequality before the law is that between the citizen
represented by his lawyer and the citizen who has to
cope with the Court system on his own.
Th e Chief Justice, the Hon. T. F. O'Higgins, had
proposed this vote of thanks. The Chair was taken by
Professor Hand, De an of the Faculty of Law.
SOCIETY OF YOUNG SOLICITORY
COMMI TTEE 1975/1976
Chairman:
Michael Carrigan
Secretary:
Clare Cusack
Treasurer:
Mary Finlay
Ordinary
Committee:
(1) Rory Conway
(2) William Earley
(3) Andrew Donnolly
(4) Brian Gallagher
(5) Derek Greenlee
(6) Aine Hanley
(7) Michael Hayes
(8) George Mills
(9) Ma e v e T.
O'Donoghue
Ex-Chairman
(10) Norman T . J .
Spendlove
(11) Brian Wallace
NOTICE
As the issues of the Gazette for March
1975 and April 1975 are scarce, will any
members who do not require their copy please
return them to the Editor.
.190