Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to present the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014 on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. The primary purpose of the Bill is to amend the existing Criminal Justice Mutual Assistance Act 2008. That Act already gives effect to 12 international agreements which establish the existing legislative framework on the provision of mutual legal assistance. The Bill is necessary to give effect to a further six international agreements not yet provided for in the 2008 Act.

I will set out what mutual legal assistance means in practice. In simple terms it enables one state to provide in its own jurisdiction a service to another state related to the administration of justice in the latter. The type of assistance may concern such matters as the investigation of serious international crime, including the gathering of evidence for use abroad or the service of documents issued by a judicial authority. It may also involve freezing or confiscation of proceeds of crime which have been trafficked across international borders.

I will now go through the six international agreements to which the Bill gives effect. Council Framework Decision 2005 on mutual recognition of financial penalties establishes the rules under which a member state recognises and executes in its territory a financial penalty order issued by a court competent in criminal matters of another member state. This agreement will allow fines imposed by courts in one member state to be collected in another member state where the person concerned resides or is a citizen. The agreement applies to fines imposed which exceed €70 in respect of any criminal matters, including road traffic offences. It would apply to any fine imposed which is appealable to a criminal court. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of the Council framework decision in accordance with our constitutional requirements on 26 November 2003.

Council Framework Decision 2006 on mutual recognition of confiscation orders establishes the rules under which a member state recognises and executes in its territory a confiscation order issued by a court competent in criminal matters of another member state. These confiscation orders are used primarily to recover proceeds of crime which have been trafficked from one state to another. They can be used to recover stolen objects or to seize financial criminal assets. We already provide for this type of mutual assistance under a number of existing international instruments such as the 1959 Council of Europe Convention. Ireland receives approximately five or six such requests each year. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of the Council framework decision in accordance with our constitutional requirements on 2 June 2004.

Council Decision 2008 on enhancing the operation of special intervention units in crisis situations aims to improve co-operation between member states' special intervention units in man-made crisis situations that present a serious and direct physical threat, such as terrorist incidents. It should be noted that the framework decision would only become relevant in the event of a very serious terrorist or similar incident. The situation envisaged would involve a large-scale crisis where a single member state may not have the means, resources or expertise to deal with the crisis. Assistance could take the form of the provision of equipment or expertise or direct assistance on the territory of the requesting member state. Any visiting specialist units would operate under the responsibility, authority and direction of the requesting member state. In addition, they would only be able to operate within the limits of their own national powers. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of this Council Decision on 4 June 2008.

Council Decision 2009/426/JHA of 16 December 2008 refers to the strengthening of Eurojust, an EU agency based in The Hague dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters. This Council decision amends the earlier Council Decision 2002/187/JHA setting up Eurojust, and provides for increased co-operation of Eurojust with other agencies such as OLAF or Europol, and strengthens its operational capabilities. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of this Council Decision on 26 November 2008.

Council Framework Decision 2009 of 26 February 2009 enhancing the procedural rights of persons and fostering the application of the principle of mutual recognition to decisions rendered in the absence of the person concerned at the trial seeks to ensure adherence to principles of natural justice in cases where judgments in absentiaarise in regard to requests for mutual legal assistance. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of this Council Framework Decision on 10 December 2008.

Council Decision 2010 on the conclusion of an agreement between the European Union and Japan on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters provides for mutual legal assistance between EU member states and Japan, based on the laws of the requested state. Implementation by Ireland will be based on existing provisions of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008. The Houses of the Oireachtas approved the terms of this Council Decision on 25 November 2009.

These international agreements have all been approved by the Houses of the Oireachtas prior to signature by Ireland. For ease of reference, the text of each of these international agreements is being added to the Schedules to the 2008 Act by this Bill. In addition to making the necessary legal provision for these international agreements, the Bill makes a number of minor corrections to existing legislation. The legislation being amended includes the Criminal Justice Act 1994, the International War Crimes Tribunal Act 1998, the Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Act 2004, the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008.

I will now turn to the Bill and explain briefly the elements in the Bill. Sections 1 to 6 of the Bill amend the 2008 Act to provide for the definition of additional EU instruments and related terms required in the Bill. Sections 7 to 23 amend the 2008 Act to give effect to Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA. These sections are probably the most technical part of the Bill and it will be helpful to Deputies if I elaborate alittle on the need for these sections and the effect they will have on the legislation.

The instrument establishes new rules under which a member state recognises and executes in its territory a confiscation order issued by a court competent in criminal matters of another member state. Under the existing provisions of the 2008 Act, all external confiscation orders must be translated by an Irish court into a domestic confiscation co-operation order. However, under the provisions of this framework decision, courts will in future recognise confiscation orders from member states without the necessity to issue a domestic confiscation co-operation order. This means that effectively we are required to operate two different regimes for dealing with confiscation orders received from other states. Those received from EU states do not require a domestic confiscation co-operation order. Those received from non-EU states will continue to require a domestic co-operation order issued by an Irish court.

The next element of the Bill, in section 24, is a new element in mutual assistance legislation to give effect to the Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA on mutual recognition of financial penalties. When this part of the Bill is enacted and commenced, the effect will be that fines greater than €70 which are imposed in the State can be collected by another member state if the person concerned is a resident or citizen of that other EU state. Furthermore, penalties imposed in other EU states on persons who are residents or citizens of this State will be collected in this State. The provisions of the Fines (Payment and Recoveries) Act 2014 will apply to such fines.

A number of sections make minor technical amendments to the wording of the 2008 Act. Sections 31 and 35of the Bill give effect to the 2008 Council Decision on enhancing the operation of special intervention units in crisis situations. Deputies will see from the Council Decision text that the type of crisis situations envisaged are situations like major international terrorist incidents which are of a scale which might require a member state to seek assistance from other member states. It should be recognised at the outset that it is considered fairly unlikely that Ireland would experience a crisis situation of the scale that would require this type of assistance. Certainly, an incident of this type and scale has not happened to date in Ireland or in any other EU member state, but in the event that such a major international incident did occur here we would be able to request appropriate assistance from other member states. Deputies will note the express agreement of Government will be required if as a result of the commission of a criminal offence a crisis situation exists and it is in the public interest to seek the assistance of a special intervention unit from another state.

The next element in the Bill I will mention is required to give effect to Council Decision 2009/426/JHA of 16 December 2008 on the strengthening of Eurojust. Section 32 of the Bill provides that the Minister may designate a Eurojust national member who may transmit and receive information in accordance with Council Decision 2009/426 JHA.

I thank the Deputies for their interest in this legislation. I am sure it will receive much support in this House. The legislation will assist in enhancing existing mutual assistance provisions and provide for wider and more efficient co-operation in fighting transnational crime. The increased mutual assistance powers provided here will be of use in detecting and prosecuting criminals. It is in my view essential legislation in a world where crime is international and does not respect borders. I commend the Bill to the House and I look forward to hearing the views of Deputies on it.

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