More judges is the answer

AS rape is among the most heinous of crimes, any legal initiative likely to be perceived as undermining the gravity of such an offence should not be considered lightly, if at all.

That fundamental point should be uppermost in the mind of Justice Minister Michael McDowell as he contemplates a proposal aimed at removing rape cases from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court in order to allow them to be dealt with on a local basis.

It is precisely because the State deems rape to be second only to murder in terms of gravity as a criminal offence that such cases can only be heard in the Central Criminal Court, which sits in Dublin. At present, the Circuit Court cannot hear rape or murder cases.

Presumably, the logic behind Mr McDowell’s thinking is to clear the backlog of rape and murder cases in the Central Criminal Court. So severe is the logjam that, last month, Mr Justice Paul Carney put back three rape cases and one murder case until 2004 because there were no judges to hear them.

Considering the cases in question had already been in the queue for 19 months, delaying them by a further two years was devastating for the victims. As the judge put it at the time, the pain and suffering of victims and their relatives in such cases was “beyond comprehension”.

Sadly, the same stricture could be applied even in rape cases when justice is delivered more swiftly. Psychologically, because of the perceived bias of the system, many victims feel as if they have been raped all over again in court.

According to Mr McDowell, whose wide experience encompassed a spell as Attorney General, the Circuit Court already has jurisdiction over such serious offences as indecent assault and complex questions of fraud. In his view, while all sexual offences are serious by their very nature, some indecent assaults are more horrific and damaging to victims than some rape cases. For these and other reasons, he favours revisiting the distinction between the Central Criminal Court and the Circuit Court.

In opposition to this, the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, an umbrella group representing 14 centres nationwide, argues that removing the crime of rape from the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court would give a clear message that rape is not being taken as seriously as it has been up to now.

Furthermore, the anonymity of victims would be seriously jeopardised if such cases were heard locally. In some victim’s minds, they would be the talk of the local community.

Like it or not, there would also be a lingering fear of retribution, intimidation and bullying if cases were heard in a local court.

Clearly, it would be a major blunder if the minister acts precipitously in this matter. At present, the complex question of court jurisdiction is under scrutiny by a working group. Before taking any radical initiative, wiser counsel suggests that he should await the outcome of that study.

Instead of merely facilitating the clearance of a case logjam amassed because of neglect of the courts by successive governments, the focus should be directed at all times towards the best interests of rape victims.

In the final analysis, there must be no perception of the gravity of rape being diminished in any way. It would be more appropriate for the minister to appoint additional judges so that the important work of the Central Criminal Court can be expedited.