Law Society of Ireland

Lobbying Organisation Law Society of Ireland

Date published 21 Sep, 2016

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 May, 2016 to 31 Aug, 2016

Specific Details Submission in relation to two heads of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill.

Intended results The need for safeguards to ensure that information concerning decisions and developments in an investigation or trial are properly provided (Head 8) and that fair time limits be considered in the case of any review (Head 14).

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Ken Murphy, Director General of the Law Society of Ireland.

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (1)

The Society is of the view that while the Bill should be welcomed as a significant contribution to the development of the rights of victims of crime, caution must nonetheless be exercised in the exercise of victim rights at the investigation and trial stages of the criminal process. It is crucial that fair procedures, as guaranteed by the Constitution, European Convention on Human Rights and EU Charter on Fundamental Rights are applied both to the complainant and the accused.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Frances Fitzgerald Minister (Department of Justice and Equality)