The Minister for Justice is to set up another expert group, this time to review aspects of the criminal law, with a view to changing certain fundamental tenets of our criminal justice system. Mr McDowell fears "the scales of justice are tilted too heavily on one side", that of the accused. In this he is echoing views expressed by speakers at the annual prosecutors' conference earlier this year. There, both the Director of Public Prosecutions and one of the invited speakers suggested that the rules of evidence were sometimes used to favour the accused and that some changes should be considered.
Among the possible amendments aired by Mr McDowell is the extension of the circumstances where adverse inferences can be drawn from a suspect exercising his right to silence; allowing evidence of previous convictions to be brought to a jury; modification of the rule excluding evidence obtained in violation of a person's constitutional rights; nullifying an acquittal in certain circumstances and extending the admissibility of hearsay evidence. All of these changes relate to the fundamental tenet of our criminal justice system - the entitlement of an accused person to be presumed innocent until the State proves him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The Minister has argued that the protections enjoyed by accused people go back to the days when many defendants could not read or write and were being prosecuted by an all-powerful State. It is true that Ireland today has a system of criminal legal aid of which we are justly proud, where every person accused of a serious crime can be represented by the best criminal lawyers, irrespective of their ability to pay. Yet the vast majority of those prosecuted are convicted.
Some of those involved in this debate have warned against weakening protections enjoyed by the accused. The response to crime begins with the Garda, they say, and these protections are aimed at ensuring that the Garda upholds people's rights when investigating a crime. A number of tribunal reports have underlined the importance of this principle.
This is not to say that our criminal justice system should not be under constant review, with consideration being given to changes that would protect the rights of the victims of crime. But in the past, pre-election periods have seen a bidding war between political parties on the subject of crime. Against this background, the Minister can reassure the public that the proposed review will be sober and objective - and will not be politicised - by appointing to the study group experts of known objectivity with no vested interest in the outcome.