Conference hears Ireland has one of strictest illegal evidence laws

Ireland has one of the strictest rules in the common law world when it comes to the inadmissibility of illegally obtained evidence, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Claire Loftus, has told a Dublin conference.

Breaches of ethical standards and human rights by investigators, as well as being ethically indefensible, also carry a risk in Ireland of derailing prosecutions, she told the gathering of prosecutors from more than 90 countries.

Organised by the International Association of Prosecutors, the conference is to host sessions over the next few days by specialised networks on terrorism, environmental crime, conflict-related sex crime, and e-crime, while having an overall focus on the relationship between prosecutors and investigators.

Ms Loftus told the conference her office is independent of Government and of the investigators, whether they be the Garda or the various regulatory agencies.

Her decisions, therefore, were free from outside influence whether political or from special interests. “I think it is fair to say that there is a strong public perception in Ireland that there is no inappropriate interference with the prosecutor’s functions.”

Her independence from investigators is one reason why her office does not have the power to direct investigations, as happens in some jurisdictions. However the DPP works closely with investigators by offering legal advice when requested. “The more serious the case, the more likely that advice will be sought and given.”

When deciding whether charges should be brought in a particular case, her office has to be satisfied there is sufficient evidence and also that a prosecution is required in the public interest.

In Ireland, the view of the investigators on whether a prosecution should be brought is valued, though it is her office that makes the ultimate decision. As witnesses and victims are only met shortly before a case goes to trial, the DPP relies, she said, on the investigator to give an assessment of, and insight into, the victim of the crime and the witnesses, as well as the suspect.