Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has announced the abolition of the long practice of double jeopardy, where a person, once acquitted, could not be tried again for the same offence.
Announcing a package of measures for victims of crime, Mr Ahern said that he would be bringing forward a new Bill which would include mechanisms to deal with an acquittal where compelling new evidence of guilt emerges after an acquittal.
Cases could also be reopened where an acquittal arises from an error by a judge. New prosecutions could be brought where there was evidence that the original acquittal was tainted by interference with the trial process, including intimidation of witnesses.
The Bill would give discretion to the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring forward new prosecutions in these circumstances, he said, in cases of serious crime like rape, manslaughter and murder.
The announcement was made at the publication of a framework document prepared by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime, the recommendations of which the Minister said he intends to implement.
Also included in the package is a plan to reform the victim impact statement system used in courts, in order to give ‘victim status’ to the relatives of the dead person.
Measures to restrict “unjustified and vexatious” claims against the character of a deceased person during a trial are also included in the draft legislation.
In other measures announced as part of the overall package, a new executive office of the Department of Justice will be established to coordinate services for victims of crime.
A reconstituted Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime, which would have a role distributing funding to groups working with victims of crime, would also be set up.
Mr Ahern said the framework looks at how current support for victims of crime may be strengthened to ensure they receive adequate assistance in the aftermath of their experience of crime.
“I consider it important we are responsive to the needs of victims. It is vital that there is a coordinated approach to the delivery of services to support victims.
“It is my intention to accept the recommendations of the commission. I propose to move quickly to implement those recommendations.”
Mr Ahern said his department has already started preparation work on the legislation and it is expected to be brought before the Oireachtas early next year.
He paid tribute to the commission members who had given their consideration to this “very wide and complex area”.
Fine Gael spokesman on children, Alan Shatter, accused the Minister of “playing politics” with crime victims by “hawking about non existent legislation related to crime victims whilst planning to reject a fully drafted and comprehensive piece of legislation produced by Fine Gael last January that will be debated in the Dáil next week”
He called on the Minister to back the “comprehensive” Victims’ Rights Bill that he, Mr Shatter, had drafted and presented with his colleague, justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan, earlier this year.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said the changes proposed by the Minister would reduce the rights of those accused of crimes without improving life for victims.
"It is a fallacy that taking liberties from accused persons can enhance the lives of victims. If the Government is genuinely interested in advancing the situation of victims then it must adopt a rights-based approach, including a statutory charter for victims of crime," said ICCL director Mark Kelly.
"Instead, Minister Ahern has chosen to market as 'pro-victim' a series of half-baked measures limiting the rights of accused persons. Victims deserve a far better deal than this."
The body proposed its own Charter of Rights for the Victims of Crime as an alternative which is based on international human rights law principles, and sets out how the Government should protect and promote the rights of crime victims, with regards to information, protection and privacy.