Special Criminal Court - New court must not infringe rights

Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s decision to introduce a second Special Criminal Court to help clear up the backlog of cases has met with a mixed reception.

He certainly deserves credit for trying to tackle the backlog in criminal cases, but this must not be allowed to infringe on the constitutional rights of people.

The Special Criminal Court was established to hear cases in which the normal functioning of jury courts was rendered impossible by threats of intimidation. Such cases were usually connected with illegal organisations of a paramilitary nature, but in recent years this has extended to crimes associated with criminal gangs.