Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The intention of Senator Tuffy's amendment is to add to the grounds on which mutual legal assistance would be refused. The amendment proposes that mutual legal assistance would be refused if there were reasonable grounds for believing that such assistance might result in the person being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in addition to him or her being subjected to torture.

The amendment is unnecessary given that section 3(2) defines torture as used in this section by reference to the meaning given it by the 2002 Act. The Criminal Justice Act 2000 gives effect to the convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment. Article 1.2 of the convention defines torture.

In addition, the Bill refers at section 3(1)(ii)(III) to assistance not being provided if it would otherwise contravene the European Convention on Human Rights and provides for assistance to be refused if providing it would contravene that convention. The European Convention on Human Rights provides at Article 3 that nobody should be subjected to torture or to inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. The matter is already covered, therefore, by the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights.