Second court set up to clear backlog
Seven judges will be appointed to the court and Justice Minister Michael McDowell said the backlog of trials should be cleared by the middle of next year.
“I want to ensure that persons intent on challenging the legitimacy and authority of the State who are charged with criminal offences are brought swiftly to justice.
“The speedy resolution of trials before the Special Criminal Court will serve to demonstrate the State’s resolve to seriously deal with any activity which is a threat to the State and its people,” he said.
However, the controversial non-jury court, set up in the 1970s, is frequently criticised as falling below the normal standards of proof usually required to convict suspects in the courts.
Originally established to deal with subversive crimes, the court has also been used to rule on gangland-related crimes such as the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.
However, a review of the use of the court for non-subversive cases was recommended earlier this year, after the UN Human Rights Committee found in April that sending cases to the Special Criminal Court on the basis of a certificate from the Director of Public Prosecutions, violated the rights of the accused to a jury trial.
Since May 1999, a committee, set up under the Good Friday Agreement and headed up by Justice Hederman, has been considering the Offences Against the State Act and the use of the Special Criminal Court.
When it concludes its deliberations, the committee will also make recommendations on whether the threat posed by paramilitarism and organised crime justifies the existence of the Special Criminal Court.
A spokesman for MrMcDowell said the operation of the special criminal courts would be decided when the backlog has been cleared.
In doing so, Mr McDowell will take into account the recommendations of the Hederman Committee and the extent of the threat posed by paramilitaries or organised crime.
The second Special Criminal Court will begin on January 1.
