Seanad debates
Thursday, 19 June 2003
European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Committee Stage.
In those circumstances, the Minister's decision to opt for this form of incorporation was based on the conviction that the Constitution has served us well over generations and that we should not seek, as these professional bodies are seeking, to bypass our constitutional arrangements by introducing far-reaching provisions which would, for example, have the effect of judges operating a parallel set of rights to those already conferred by the Constitution. That would be the effect of making the convention a direct part of our law. It would empower the courts to have a shadow bill of rights in operation as well as the bill of rights already contained in Articles 40 to 44.
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