Court martial prosecutor role unfilled for more than a year

Military management has said there are no issues over discipline within the Defence Forces after it emerged that the main prosecutorial role in courts-martial was only filled last month after the vacancy existed for more than a year.

The Department of Defence said the role of Director of Military Prosecutions became vacant in December 2018 and was filled in February this year. The Director is the main prosecutor in cases deemed serious enough to warrant a court-martial.

Management stressed that while the position had gone unfilled for a time, most disciplinary matters are dealt with at unit level and any backlog of more serious cases will now be tackled.

A military spokesman said: “The Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) is the military equivalent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Cases are prosecuted on the direction of the DMP and so this could not happen while the office was vacant.

“On a practical level, the Director appoints prosecutors and may give directions during the course of a court-martial, and so such activities were not possible in the absence of a Director.”

The spokesman said there are currently five courts-martial and five appeals pending with the Court Martial Administrator, involving a wide variety of charges and alternative charges.

While we do not comment on any individual cases, soldiers, like all citizens, enjoy the presumption of innocence,” the spokesman said. “However, the military chain of command can and does take appropriate action where necessary to properly protect the rights and/or safety of all parties concerned.

The Department of Defence said: "The previous Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) voluntarily retired from the Permanent Defence Force on  November 3, 2018.

"Formal sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was sought and approved to fill the position of DMP for the Defence Forces, on a full-time basis by open competition. A competition was duly held and following interviews by a Selection Committee of eligible candidates, a suitable candidate was nominated for appointment. The Minister with Responsibility for Defence accepted the recommendation of the Committee and submitted a proposal to Government, recommending the appointment. The DMP was subsequently appointed on February 18 2020."

Most recent annual figures show that five members faced either summary or limited courts-martial in 2018, while three other members brought appeals against earlier decisions.

In one of those summary court-martial trials, a private who was facing a number of charges of negligent performance of a duty and ill-discipline was discharged from the Defence Forces prior to the trial date and left the jurisdiction.

Other recent years have seen higher numbers of courts-martial, with assault and sexual assault among the more serious cases dealt with.