Northern solicitors have spoken out against the "draconian" legislation planned by the British and Irish governments in the wake of the Omagh bombing. The Solicitors Criminal Bar Association said yesterday if the measures were introduced they would move the criminal justice system from the standard of due process required not only in a democratic society but also by the European Convention of Human Rights.
The association said in a statement: "The criminal justice system in Northern Ireland has already been moved further away from due process by the effective removal of the right to silence some years ago, but to add to this that the failure to answer questions or to co-operate with the police can now be corroborative evidence is to push the system outside due process entirely. To allow a suspect to be convicted on the word of a police officer, coupled with the refusal to co-operate with the officer, means that a defendant is no longer presumed innocent but must in fact prove his innocence."
The association said solicitors felt this type of "hurried, re active legislation" had no place "in a democratic society". "We feel these proposals will create bad law," the statement added, "and will leave the system open to potential abuse by the authorities and to likely miscarriages of justice."