cearta.ie – Page 160 – the Irish for rights

In a report published last night, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), a leading and well-respected independent organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting human rights, called for the introduction of a Judicial Council to strengthen the accountability of the Irish judiciary (see RTÉ | Irish Examiner | Irish Independent (Dearbhail McDonald) | Irish Times (here and here)). Tanya Ward, Senior Research and Policy Officer with the ICCL, undertook a year of independent and original research, including in-depth interviews with senior members of the Irish judiciary, to produce Justice Matters. Independence, Accountability and the Irish Judiciary (summary (pdf); Part I (pdf); Part II (pdf)).

It is a hugely important development, and very welcome. For example, a major finding from the research is that complaints against judges have not been processed expeditiously, and the Government’s handling of the issue of judicial complaints is criticised; so the report’s central recommendation is that the State finally establish a long-overdue Judicial Council, to hold judges to account where necessary whilst also respecting the constitutionally protected independence of the judiciary; and it also recommends a judicial Code of Ethics and greater transparency in the process of appointing judges.…

Amnesty advert

16 July, 200720 December, 2008

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| Freedom of Expression, Media and Communications

The Irish Section of Amnesty International is broadcasting the following advertisement on Irish television:

A slightly longer, generic version is available here. It is a powerful advertisement, well worth the half-minute it will take to watch it; but it raises an interesting question. Is it a political advertisment within the meaning of section 20(4) of the Broadcasting (Authority) Act, 1960 and section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act, 1988, which provide that no advertisement shall be broadcast which is “directed towards any religious or political end …”?

As we have seen several times on this blog (here, here, here, here and here), many advertisements have fallen foul of this prohibition, from TrÃ³caire‘s most recent lenten advertisment, through the Interim National Consumer Agency‘s campaign against price controls on groceries, to EU Commission advertisments extolling the virtues of the European Union. It is a silly and unjustifiable restriction on political speech, but it has survived scrutiny in the Irish and English courts, and the European Court of Human Rights has upheld restrictions on religious advertising. On the other hand, that Court has struck down prohibitions on political advertising, as has the US Supreme Court, just at the end of last month.…

Good for the University of Edinburgh

15 July, 200719 July, 2007

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| Universities

According to a short piece by Paul Kelbie in today’s Observer, Edinburgh University will tomorrow revoke an honorary degree conferred in 1984 upon Robert Mugabe (pictured left; see BBC | wikipedia), President of Zimbabwe (see BBC | Guardian | wikipedia | official site).

From the Observer’s website (15 July 2007):

Edinburgh University revokes Mugabe degree

Edinburgh University will tomorrow revoke an honorary degree awarded to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The degree was awarded in 1984 for Mugabe’s services to education in Africa. He has since been blamed for Zimbabwe’s failing economy and accused of running an oppressive regime.

…

Nothing to hide?

9 July, 200719 July, 2007

| 5 Comments

| Privacy

Just posted on SSRN, an essay by Daniel J Solove entitled “I’ve Got Nothing to Hide” and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy. From the abstract:

… When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: “I’ve got nothing to hide.” According to the “nothing to hide” argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The “nothing to hide” argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the “nothing to hide” argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings.

…

Media Convergence

8 July, 200720 December, 2008

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| Election 2007, Media and Communications

A superb piece by Gaby Wood in today’s Observer discusses one aspect of the convergence of media and illustrates another.

The piece itself, From the web to the White House, discusses how, with the advent of YouTube, the internet has become the key political battleground in the 2008 presidential election. Three short extracts from a long and interesting piece. First:

During the last presidential election, bloggers were the new digital phenomenon to contend with; now YouTube has taken precedence, and it has the potential for much more dramatic effect.

Given that we have just had an Irish general election in which candidates embraced blogging for the first time, perhaps we can look forward to the impact of YouTube in the next one, rather than in the one just past. …

Another development in the protection of privacy

8 July, 20078 July, 2007

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| Privacy

From a post on the always-excellent Ghosts in the Machine blog (Privacy Rights and Terror Investigations), a story on the BBC Technology site (Net growth prompts privacy update), and a pointer from DaithÃ (off-blog, via del.icio.us) in the direction of a story on OUT-LAW (International effort on privacy protection is launched), I learn that the “world’s leading industrialised nations have been forced to update privacy laws made obsolete by the huge volume of data moving around the net”. (BBC).

A committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), chaired by Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, has recommended both minimum standards for the protection of privacy in its members states (which include Ireland), and mechanisms for sharing information about privacy violators between member states; and it suggests methods for improving communication among agencies (such as Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner) that enforce privacy laws. As Library Boy explains, with “the increasing flow of personal data across national borders, the unlawful use of private information becomes easier and privacy advocates see a need for better ways of providing mutual assistance to one another in the enforcement of privacy laws”.…

A Minister for Universities?

7 July, 20077 July, 2007

| 1 Comment

| Universities

If newly re-elected Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern’s post-election Cabinet reshuffle was marked by characteristic caution, then newly-installed UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s post-appointment Cabinet reshuffle was marked by uncharacteristic flexibility.

For example, Brown divided the Department for Education and Skills into two, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS; full Ministerial team here) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Then, both David Cameron, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, and Sir Menzies Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, both reshuffled their respective front benches to appoint shadows to these Departments.

However messy the split might be to implement, it is nevertheless an important one, recognising that it is inappropriate to locate policy for the very different education sectors in one department: inevitably, the focus tends to be on one strand, to the detriment of the others. Stand-alone departments, arguing their separate cases at government level, avoid this.

It is therefore disappointing, to say the least, to see that, whilst the university sector merits a full ministry in the UK, it doesn’t even merit a junior minister in Ireland. For all the Irish government’s cant about the importance of research to the national development plan, this lack of recognition is another disheartening example of how the third level sector continues to be marginalised in Irish government policy-making.…

Another Gray day for privacy

6 July, 20078 July, 2007

| 3 Comments

| Privacy

Two updates following on from my posts (here and here) about a Dublin family who moved to Ballybunion but were forced out when the GardaÃ leaked to the local press that they had taken in their nephew who had just been released from prison after serving a sentence for rape.