The Special Criminal Court: Practice and Procedure

PART ONE: THE SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. Historical and Political Background
2. The Constitutional Context
3. Legislative Establishment
4. Criticisms and Reviews (to include the UN Committee on Human Rights Communication No 819/1998 (April 4, 2001) and the Committee to Review the Offences against the State Acts, 1939-1998 and Related Matters Interim Report 2001 (Stationary Office, Dublin 2002) )
5. Terrorist Trials in other jurisdictions (UK, Australia, Canada, U.S., Civil Law Jurisdictions)

PART TWO: OFFENCES TRIABLE BY THE SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT

1. Scheduled Offences
A. The Offences Against the State Act 1939
i. Membership of an Unlawful Organisation
ii. Usurpation of the function of government
iii. Obstruction of government
iv. Foreign newspapers containing seditious or unlawful matter
v. Possession of treasonable, seditious or incriminating documents
a) The burden of proof (O'Leary v AG; Hardy; Rock)
vi. Provisions in respect of documents printed for reward
vii. Obligation to print printer's name and address on documents
viii. Unauthorized military exercises prohibited
ix. Secret Societies in army or police
x. Administering unlawful oaths
xi. Prohibition of certain public meetings
xii. Prohibition of meetings in the vicinity of the Oireachtas
xiii. Directing an unlawful organization
xiv. Possession of articles connected with certain offences
xv. Unlawful collection of information
xvi. Withholding information
xvii. Training person in the making or use of firearms
B. Criminal Law Act 1976
i. Recruiting for an unlawful organization
C. Treason Act 1939
D. Explosive Substances Act 1883
E. Firearms Acts 1925-71
F.
Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006
G. Scheduled Offences no longer in force:
i. Malicious Damage Act 1861
ii. Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875

2. Non-scheduled offences tried in the SCC

A. Extension to non-subversive crime and implications
B. Criminal Justice Act 2009
C. Miscellaneous offences
D. Contempt

PART THREE: PROCEDURAL AND EVIDENTIAL MATTERS RELATING TO TRIALS IN THE SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT

1. Initiation of Proceedings by the DPP (to include discussion of provisions relating to DPP discretion as to where proceedings are initiated and reviewability of same)
2. Bail
3. Entry of a plea (to include issue of standing mute)
4. Trial as Gaeilge
5. Privilege and Disclosure issues (to include discussion of public interest privilege/methodology/ informer privilege/ redaction of documents)
6. Evidence relating to arrest and detention (with particular emphasis on section 30 arrests and issues arising from involvement at arrest scene of multiple Garda sections such as NSU, ERU and SDU)
3. Surveillance evidence (including discussion of the Criminal Justice Surveillance Act 2009)
4. Inference Provisions and Garda interviews (with particular reference to the inference provisions in s.2 OASAA 1998)
5. Accomplice Evidence (to include discussion of witnesses in witness protection programme)
6. Belief evidence of a Chief Superintendent in Membership Cases (to include discussion of important decisions such as the Supreme Court case of DPP v. Martin Kelly, and other cases such as DPP v. Redmond, DPP v. Binead and O'Donohue)
7. Sentencing

PART FOUR: APPEALS FROM THE SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT