EU-US treaty will be binding on Ireland before Dáil can examine it
Yesterday, one of Ireland’s top criminal law experts said the agreement on extradition and mutual assistance had major implications for the liberties of Irish citizens.
“The big concern I would have about it is democratic scrutiny of these decisions,” said Professor Dermot Walsh of the University of Limerick.
“What’s happening here is the EU is acting on behalf of member states, including Ireland, and entering into agreement with a third country, in this case the US, which can involve extradition and mutual assistance.
“At the end of the day, this affects the rights and liberties of individual citizens.
“When decisions of that magnitude are being taken one would hope that our parliament, the Dáil, would have some sort of say in the matter.
“The reality is they don’t. I find that deeply worrying.”
Amnesty and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties have criticised the treaty because of the increasing use of secret military courts in the US and the existence of the death penalty in various states.
The European Parliament also adopted a critical report on the agreement just before EU justice ministers, including Michael McDowell, formally agreed to the treaty earlier this month.
Professor Walsh, who is the director of the Centre for Criminal Justice in the School of Law, said issues covered in the treaty were traditionally the preserve of national parliaments.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the agreement would have to be ratified by the Dáil before it could come into force. This process is expected to take a year or more.
The Department of Justice also pointed out the EU had received guarantees from the US the death penalty would not be sought or carried out.
The Dáil European Scrutiny Sub-Committee has referred the agreement to the Justice Committee for consideration.
However, when the treaty is signed today, no member state will be able to make any alterations to it.
The agreement is part of the EU’s pledge to the US to help fight terrorism following the September 11 2001 atrocities.
The treaty covers extradition for any suspected offence carrying a sentence as little as a year and as well as co-operation on the exchange of data and information.
The treaty will also allow the establishment of joint investigation teams between the US and the EU.
