The case concerned a challenge to section 10 of the 2007 Act which had inserted a new provision (article 26A) into the Juries (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (SI 1996/1141) restricting the disclosure of information about jurors. It was argued that the new arrangements in effect brought about trial of defendants by a secret tribunal and that this constituted a breach of article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) since it infringed the guarantees of a public hearing and of trial within a system containing sufficient guarantees of impartiality.
Held: The argument was rejected: ‘[t]he existence of the risks identified by the juries’ sub-group of juror intimidation, of partisan juries and of perverse jury verdicts has not been seriously disputed by most commentators . . ‘
Judges:
Kerr LCJ and Campbell LJ
Citations:
[2008] NIQB 1
Links:
Statutes:
Juries (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 1
Jurisdiction:
Northern Ireland
Cited by:
Cited – Hutchings, Re Application for Judicial Review SC 6-Jun-2019
The appellant, a former army officer challenged proceedings against him as to the death of a civilian shot in Northern Ireland in 1974. His trial had been certified for trial by judge alone, and without a jury under section 1 of the 2007 Act.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Northern Ireland
Updated: 24 March 2022; Ref: scu.263301
