Clause 3 - Scheduled offences
Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Bill
11:45 am
Shaun Woodward (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; St Helens South, Labour)
It is fair to say that we were confused about what might lie behind this probing amendment. Therefore, to be of assistance, I shall explore what I think may be happening.
The amendment would create an additional mechanism for cases to be removed from the Diplock system. It would enable the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Lord Chief Justice, to order that a particular case be tried by jury. Such orders would not be subject to the unfettered right of appeal of sentence or conviction available from Diplock courts.
The current process for taking cases out of the Diplock system is well understood. The Attorney-General certifies out of the Diplock system any case that seems to him to be unconnected with the emergency in Northern Ireland. We think that the hon. Gentleman may misunderstand the process of de-scheduling, because all offences listed in the schedule are automatically tried by Diplock courts. The Attorney-General determines that the offence is not connected to the emergency and therefore de-schedules it. This process has worked well for many years, and successive Attorneys-General have undertaken the role with great care and diligence.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) said, there may be some confusion; it is again is a question of understanding what lies behind the amendment. What is being proposed may be intended as an alternative to Diplock courts. The choice of Secretary of State and Lord Chief Justice seems somewhat odd on that basis, because it is a well-established principle that Ministers should not be involved in individual cases in this fashion and that the Lord Chief Justice’s interests lie in the smooth running of the courts and the management of the judiciary and not in the prosecution of individual cases. We would be concerned that involving him in the way set out in the amendment would risk placing the judiciary in the realm of the political.
I do not know whether that helps the hon. Gentleman, but we would certainly want him to withdraw the amendment, because we suspect that, for all his good intentions, he may not have understood the principle behind de-scheduling.