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Wed 09 Sep 2008On-the-spot fines for public drunkenness haven't a leg to stand on
NEWTON'S OPTICThe vast majority of people will welcom Minister for Justice Dermot ahern's introduction of €100 on-the-spot fiens for public drunkeness.
However, the Republic is a rights-based democracy, so the vast majority of people have no rights in this matter. What actually matters is the Human Rights Act 2003, which grants anyone facing civil or criminal sanction the presumption of innocence and the right to a public hearing before an impartial tribunal. On-the-spot fines thus breach the Human Rights Act, as the Irish Human Rights Commission will point out shortly.
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