THERE IS now no alleged abuse of human rights which is not reviewable by an independent court, Northern Ireland High Court judge the Hon Mr Justice Séamus Treacy said last night.
Speaking to an audience in west Belfast, Mr Justice Treacy said “That we have arrived at this new point is the consolidated work of many, not least the lawyers and the courts, whose independence, actual and perceived, constitutes the greatest bulwark against the abuse of State power”.
He said “extensive human rights jurisprudence” and “the enlarged role of the courts in upholding and protecting fundamental rights” were among the defining features of the modern post-Human Rights Act judicial system.
“The enlarged role of the courts means that challenges to alleged abuses of power by the State can be taken promptly before the domestic court. The sophisticated legal framework means that there is no alleged abuse of human rights which is not now reviewable by an independent court with rights of appeal and ultimate recourse to Strasbourg if necessary”, he said.
He was speaking on the role of lawyers in defending and upholding human rights at the annual PJ McGrory Human Rights lecture at St Mary’s University College, Belfast. The West Belfast MP Gerry Adams president of Sinn Féin, was in the audience. The event is part of the Féile an Phobail summer festival in west Belfast.
Mr Treacy was a successful human rights barrister involved in many high-profile cases including the Bloody Sunday inquiry before he became a judge of the Northern Ireland High Court.
“Recent events following 9/11 and 7/7 show that protecting human rights is a bit like fire-fighting – you put out one fire only to discover that it has reignited in another context. Although amid the clash of arms the law is not silent it is undoubtedly the case that the most egregious abuses of human rights have tended to coincide with national emergencies or war”, he said
“If the price of liberty is eternal vigilance that vigilance will be exercised by an alert and informed community with access to a strong independent, sufficiently resourced legal profession and by independent judges whose role is to uphold the law without fear or favour”, he said.