Ivana Bacik (Independent)

It is nice to witness such a mood of consensus. We are all agreed that this is a measure to be welcomed. Senator Regan and others have asked why this EU measure is up for debate in the House when other measures that are more deserving of debate have been passed through, as Senator O'Donovan has said, more or less on the nod. We should consider how the decision is made as to what EU measures are debated in the House and what measures are simply passed without debate. Having said that, this is clearly an uncontroversial measure, a main aim of which is to facilitate public access to information about court procedures. It is especially important for anyone facing cross-border litigation or anything to do with a transnational dimension.

The website set up under the scheme already is very informative. It provides information, for example, on how to bring a case to court in the 27 member states. There is a general benefit not just for litigants or potential litigants and for practitioners but also for academics in terms of facilitating greater research and increasing our knowledge pool about the legal systems of other member states. We have been somewhat isolated in Ireland as a common law country and it is good for us to have access and information on the systems and procedures that operate in civil code countries.

Ten years ago I participated in a European traditional network research project on rape law across the then 15 member states and looked at different procedures in rape trials. We learned a great deal about how to improve our rape trial processes in Ireland from the victim's point of view. We learned a great deal from looking at systems about which we knew very little before membership of the EU. I think this sort of judicial network is very beneficial.

However, there are some measures, particularly in the criminal law side, where we would have to be concerned about enhancing EU co-operation to ensure there would not be any encroachment on the due process rights that we have well-established in our criminal system. In some instances, especially in terms of policing co-operation, we would have data protection concerns about the sharing of data across borders but clearly none of those issues arises here. I welcome the motion.