An order suspending the reporting of proceedings in the trial of Mr Colm Murphy at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin was made this afternoon.
Mr Murphy is accused of aiding those who planted the Omagh bomb.
Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, acting for Mr Murphy, requested that evidence presented to the court should not be reported by the press. This order was granted at 2.25 p.m.
Justice Robert Barr said: "This court is a two-part court which is in part a jury and in part a judicial court. It is currently exercising its function as a judicial court in determining the validity of evidence.
"It would be patently unjust for information to be furnished to the public at large which ultimately might transpire to be inadmissible or quite wrong. It would be wrong, it would be unjust and that is why the court has ruled as it has," he said.
Justice Barr went on to say that it was "following long established practice", in the Central Criminal Court and Circuit Criminal Court, that this action was taken.
This ruling arises from the voir direnature of today's proceedings, in which a preliminary examination of a witness takes place. This effectively makes it a 'trial within a trial'.
Usually this type of legal argument would take place in the absence of the jury and the media. However, the Special Criminal Court operates with three judges in place of the jury, in addition to presiding over a case.
