Refusal to certify porn film upheld

THE High Court has upheld a decision by the censor to refuse to grant the owner of an adult store a certificate for an “erotic” pornographic movie.

Jaqueline Byrne, Capel Street, Dublin, the owner of Shauna’s adult store, took a case against the Official Censor and the Censorship of Films Appeals Board to quash the board’s decision to uphold the censor’s decision on April 19, 2004, not to certify the film Anabolic Initiations #5.

In what was described as a test case, Ms Byrne argued that the board’s decision, which she was informed of in July 2006, amounted to unfair procedure and was contrary to natural justice because it gave no reasons for its decision.

However, in a reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins said in his view the censor had made it clear why he deemed the film “unfit for viewing”.

The judge acknowledged that the censor did not provide analysis of the film or discuss details which led him to deny certification.

“In my view there was no necessity for the censor to do so, nor was it incumbent upon him to give a short analysis of the parts or the contents of the video recordings that influenced his decision,” the judge concluded.