An indication by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter that there may be no need for specialised juries in cases involving complex financial matters has been welcomed.
Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin submitted parliamentary questions on the matter, after retired Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton recently indicated that specially trained jurors may be needed for cases arising from the banking crisis.
Mr Griffin said the proposal raised “valid concerns about the representative nature of our jury system”.
He said juries were designed to be broadly representative of society, but that this would not be the case if specialist juries were used.
Mr Griffin noted the Minister’s indication that under the previsions of Section 57 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, which came into force earlier this year, extra documents may be provided to a jury to help with deliberations. This could include charts and agreed summaries of evidence.
The Minister also noted that the Law Reform Commission is currently taking a detailed look at jury service, with a particular focus on how juries are selected.
Recommendations are expected to be published in the new year.
“We should not automatically assume that juries would not be able to grasp the intricacies of a complex case, but I certainly welcome clarification from the Minister that additional help will be provided to juries to ensure they carry out their duties effectively.”
In his answers to the parliamentary questions earlier this month, Mr Shatter said he understood the commission’s report and recommendations would be published in the first quarter of next year.