Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004

national | crime and justice | news report Sunday June 06, 2004 01:48 by Harry Rea - National Men's Council of Ireland hrea at eircom dot net

It would appear that all orders made in the family circuit courts in the past five years are unsafe

One of the prime activities of the National Men’s Council of Ireland is to monitor, on behalf of parents, how legislation and social policy impacts on the family and marriage and in particular on children. The infamous 'In-Camera Rule' has once again come into focus.

The passing today of the Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004 (given below) would appear, at first reading, to be aimed SPECIFICALLY at the claim made to the Courts Service et al by the National Men's Council of Ireland that Solicitors are not proper persons to be involved in Family Court hearings.

The Law Society are on record to us stating that they will not entertain complaints made against their members who acted in family law cases where the in-camera rule operated because evidence from the hearing could not be used in their defence.

Because the statute of limitations for claims made to the Law Society against the malpractice of their members is five years and the custom and practice in Family Law in the Circuit Courts is that the solicitor representing the applicant writes the Order and the solicitor representing the respondent "perfects" it, all without the Judge who made the orders ever seeing or verifying it, it follows that if there is no possibility of complaining against the AUTHORS of these orders ALL ORDERS MADE IN THE FAMILY CIRCUIT COURTS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS ARE UNSAFE AND INVALID.

This bill appears to not cover the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964, so presumably the Judges in the District Courts were acting illegally by preventing fathers from bringing in witnesses or disclosing the proceedings to the press when there were applications made under this Act.

We must now ensure at every opportunity that the corruption of the system is witnessed and exposed and the evil practices that have flourished under the secrecy of the in-camera rule are at last eradicated.

We must also demand a proper inquiry into how the in-camera rule was allowed to exist for so long whilst everyone knew that its very purpose was to cover up the institutional corruption in the system.

Importantly this Bill fails to offer compensation for the thousands of fathers and their children who have been abused and neglected as a consequence of an inept system which denied them justice through negating the possibility of their cases being heard in public.



Civil Liability and Courts Bill 2004
Seanad Bill

Explanatory Memo

Section 31

provides for the amendment of the ‘in camera’ rule, as contained in certain statutes relating to family law, so as to allow the publication of reports of proceedings so long as the report does not contain any information which would identify the parties or any child to which the proceedings relate.

It further provides that nothing in any enactment prohibiting proceedings from being heard in public shall prevent the production of a document or the giving of information or evidence relating to such proceedings to a body or person conducting a hearing, inquiry etc. pursuant to statute.

This extends also to a body or person acting otherwise than under statute where the body or person is prescribed by order of the Minister.

In both situations, the body or person is prohibited from publishing the document, information or other material.

As initiated

31.-
(1) For the purposes of this section each of the following shall be a ‘relevant enactment’-

(a) section 2(1B) (inserted by section 20 of the Courts Act 1971) of the Legitimacy Act 1931;

(b) (b) section 45 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 5\ (in so far as it relates to matrimonial causes or matters, or minor matters);

(c) section 25 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976;

(d) section 10 of the Act of 1976;

(e) section 36 of the Status of Children Act 1987;

(f) section 34 of the Act of 1989;

(g) section 33 of the Act of 1995;

(h) section 38 of the Act of 1995;

(i) section 38 of the Act of 1996;

(j) section 16 of the Domestic Violence Act 1996.


(2) Nothing contained in a relevant enactment shall operate to prohibit

(a) the preparation and publication of a report of proceedings to which the relevant enactment relates, or

(b)
(b) the publication of the decision of the court in such proceedings, provided that the report or judgment does not contain any information which would enable the parties to the proceedings or any child to which the proceedings relate to be identified.

(3) Nothing contained in an enactment that prohibits proceedings to which the enactment relates from being heard in public shall operate to prohibit the production of a document prepared for the purposes or in contemplation of such proceedings or given in evidence in such proceedings, to-

(a) a body or other person when it, or he or she, is performing functions under any enactment consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter, or

(b) such body or other person as may be prescribed by order 35 made by the Minister, when the body or person concerned is performing functions consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter as may be so prescribed.

(4) Nothing contained in an enactment that prohibits proceedings to which the enactment relates from being heard in public shall operate to prohibit the giving of information or evidence given in such proceedings to-

(c) a body or other person when it, or he or she, is performing functions under any enactment consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter, or

(d) such body or other person as may be prescribed by order made by the Minister, when the body or person concerned is performing functions consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter as may be so prescribed.

(5) A hearing, inquiry or investigation referred to in subsection (3) or (4) shall, in so far as it relates to a document referred to in subsection (3) or information or evidence referred to in subsection (4), be conducted otherwise than in public and no such document, information or evidence shall be published.