Read a very interesting perspective from Erwin James, former prisoner and writer with the Guardian on a visit to Mountjoy Prison.
James expresses the view that the Irish prison authorities “should be ashamed” of the fact that prisoners there continue to slop out. This practice was phased out in the UK years ago.
The Fines Bill has been passed by the Dáil and is now before the Seanad.
As this piece in the Irish Times argues, it is to be hoped that the judiciary implement the finalised Act in full. District Court sentencing is something about which we know rather little, but the proliferation of short sentence prisoners in Irish jails tends to suggest that minor offences do attract custodial sentences on a not-infrequent basis. I hope this signal from the Oireachtas will lead to a reassessment amongst District Court judges of their sentencing practice and prompt further legislative activity to promote genuine alternatives to custody.
One entirely unnecessary stick to beat the prison system with is about to be removed. There remains more to be done!
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The fifth in the IPRT Prison Law seminar series will be on the topic ‘Irish Prison Law and the ECHR’. The event takes place at 5pm on Monday March 22nd, 2010 in Distillery Building, Church Street, Dublin 7.
IPRT co-hosts this series with the Irish Criminal Bar Association and the Dublin Solicitor’s Bar Association.
Focus of the Seminar
This seminar will address the principal procedural issues surrounding the application of the ECHR Act in a Prison Law context before the Irish courts; as well the procedural issues surrounding the bringing of cases to the European Court of Human Rights. The seminar will also address recent Strasbourg jurisprudence relating to human rights in prison.
Speakers
This seminar series is hosted jointly by Irish Penal Reform Trust, the Irish Criminal Bar Association and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, and seminars qualify for Continuing Professional Development for both solicitors and barristers.
Registration:
Attendance fees for the event are as follows:
Please note that IPRT can only accept credit-card payments online.
Sign up to become an IPRT member here.
Register online for the event here.
Alternatively, contact Mary Gaffney at IPRT at info@iprt.ie or 01-8741400. The seminar will be followed by a wine reception.
Prison Law Seminar Series: ‘Irish Prison Law and the ECHR’ | Irish Penal Reform Trust #IPRT#.
Mary Rogan 