Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Chairman should lead a delegation. It is important to ascertain from the authorities beforehand the likely reaction to the appearance of a delegation at the trial. In some jurisdictions, it is resented by the Judiciary, while it is not resented in others. I was involved in a few such cases in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. We were lucky in the sense that the legal profession did not resent the appearance of a delegation. We were successful in what we were trying to do in all cases, but I strongly urge that in the case of a delegation going to Egypt, we ascertain from the Egyptian authorities in advance their likely reaction so we will know the position before we start.