Labour 'would end secrecy of family law courts'

The Labour Party has promised it would introduce a raft of law reform proposals including "rolling back the veil of secrecy" …

The Labour Party has promised it would introduce a raft of law reform proposals including "rolling back the veil of secrecy" surrounding the family law courts.

The party has also pledged to change the law to allow people to get married where they wish, rather than in the limited number of places the State dictates.

The Labour candidate in Meath, Mr Peter Ward, said the legal system must reflect the citizens it is there to serve.

They would change the rules covering in-camera proceedings in the courts, especially in family law.

READ MORE

The privacy and the identity of the litigants would always be protected, said Mr Ward, a barrister. However, a degree of transparency would be introduced where none now exists.

The party would also introduce a "radical" reform of the civil legal aid system.

"Our aim is to abolish the two-tier legal system that citizens of limited means currently endure. The power of the Legal Aid Board to grant civil legal aid will be transferred to the courts on the basis of a simple test along the lines of the criminal legal aid scheme."

Once granted legal aid, a person would be entitled to be represented by a solicitor of their choice.

"This move will abolish legal aid waiting lists at a stroke," he said.

The party is also proposing that the provision of Article 26 of the Constitution, whereby decisions of the Supreme Court stand for all time, will be abolished.

Labour would also change the Constitution so that people old enough to vote are entitled to stand for an elected office.

A defamation Bill would be introduced to reform the law of libel and slander.

This would be counterbalanced by a Privacy Bill to provide civil remedies for intrusions on privacy, as well as further controls on telephone tapping and bugging devices.

The party's spokeswoman on equality and law reform, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said Labour would guarantee the rights of people with disabilities with a "strong, enforceable, rights-based Disabilities Bill".

She said the European Convention on Human Rights would be made a full part of Irish law, scrapping the outgoing Government's "pathetically weak and ineffective Bill".

Speaking about restoring trust in politics, Mr Pat Rabbitte, enterprise, trade and employment spokesman, said the Government's decision to amend the Electoral Acts to facilitate Fianna Fáil spending more money prior to the election being called, was a "disgraceful abuse" of power.

"In my constituency the Taoiseach's face (on posters) is more in evidence than Kylie Minogue's backside . . . Hundreds of thousands of euro have been spent on this advertising blitz, funded no doubt by Fianna Fáil's friends in the corporate sector."

Fianna Fáil had been throwing around money around "like snuff at a wake", said Mr Rabbitte.

He said the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had refused, despite repeated calls and widespread public support, to break the financial link between politics and big business and ban corporate donations.

"A taint on politics remains unless we break the link."