Judgment restores home rule

Seán Moran on the implications of the High Court ruling on Na Fianna's injunction which decided disputes within the GAA should stay in-house

Yesterday's High Court judgment, lifting Na Fianna's injunction against the Dublin county championship, will do more than allow Raheny, UCD and St Vincent's to get back down to business. It has a broader significance that admits a chink of light into what had become a gloomy year for the GAA in the courts of the land.

The whole issue of the Blood Rule and how many substitutes can be used isn't strictly relevant to what Mr Justice Smith decided yesterday and the judge himself was insistent about not adjudicating on the substance of Na Fianna's claim.

At first glance his reference to the rules dispute being "a matter of interpretation" would seem to lend succour to Na Fianna's argument that the provision under which they were expelled from the championship is at best a grey area. But in fact it constitutes a view that the GAA would dearly love to see upheld on a regular basis whenever members or units seek redress in the courts.

The High Court referred to Rule 151 (f), which states, "in particular there shall be no appeal to any court of law or to any outside body on any matter".

It was held that short of there being a deprivation of constitutional rights or breach of natural law, disputes within the GAA should remain in-house.

The judge referred to the dispute as being a matter of interpretation on the basis that Na Fianna's case was grounded on their interpretation of the rules. But he added that the structure of the GAA was the proper forum for such a dispute. Without passing comment on what he thought of the club's argument, he was simply saying their interpretation had got a proper hearing at county board and provincial council levels.

In the circumstances he wasn't willing to hold up the county championship any longer.

This is all good news for the GAA. If Mr Justice Smith's decision is followed it will mean that in future, there will be a strict yardstick for cases being brought against the GAA authorities: a breach of fundamental rights must be at stake. Very few cases would meet that criterion.

The GAA president-elect Seán Kelly was happy to hear yesterday's news. Earlier this week he had made reference to Rule 151 and the manner in which it was ignored. "I suppose the point is that if someone goes to court and is successful, it will encourage others. If not, the trend might stop," he said last night.

"This area has to be looked at in a broader light. The spirit of the rule (151) has to be addressed. Either we abide by the rules or we change them. It's certainly an undesirable trend when games are held up.

"I have some sympathy if there are anomalies in the rule book. Joe Lennon (the former Down All-Ireland captain who has published a three-volume comparative analysis of the GAA's rules) sent me a dissertation in which he made the point that any rule which needs to be interpreted is a bad rule. That can lead to uncertainty in a situation when there has to be consistency across the board.

"But we must also remember that we live in an era when everything is challenged. People go to court for everything while in the past they didn't. That's a societal trend and obviously the GAA reflects it."

The judgment doesn't, however, give the GAA's rules a clean bill of health. One area that has concerned the authorities and may be dealt with at next year's congress is the whole matter of enforcing discipline at the highest level. With video footage becoming a more common source of evidence, Croke Park's Games Administration Committee is looking at its own procedural function.

At present the GAC views videos, selects incidents, frames charges, prosecutes and tries them before sitting in judgment at the hearing. There is growing alarm that this process would not pass muster if challenged in the courts.

It has been suggested a separate committee be established - a kind of DPP's office - to identify those incidents that have escaped the referee's notice and cite the players involved.

That way the GAC would be purely a forum for hearing the charge.

Whatever is decided in the New Year, it is probable the GAA will - regardless of yesterday's hugely encouraging development - look again at its rules to identify any potential conflict with the law of the land.