Irish High Court says non-national ID law unconstitutional; MRCI finds systemic ethnic profiling in Ireland

Irish High Court

The Irish High Court has found a law which makes it a criminal offence for a non-national to fail to produce ID on demand without "satisfactory explanation" to be unconstitutional.

In ED v. DPP, in considering s12 of the Immigration Act 2004, Kearns J found "its vagueness is such as to fail basic requirements for the creation of a criminal offence". The Court also indicated that the provision had the potential to violate the right against self-incrimination under the Constitution and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to a fair hearing).

The Applicant was an undocumented asylum seeker who had been arrested twice under s12 and detained for over three months. The Irish Human Rights Commission, who made a third party intervention, welcomed the judgment and stated that "foreign nationals in the State should not be subjected to a provision of the criminal law where it is unclear when or how they may fall foul of it".

Please click here to view the IHRC press release.
Please click here to view the Irish Times article.
Please click here to view a Human Rights in Ireland blog.

MRCI Report

Meanwhile the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland has issued a report on ethnic profiling in Ireland. The report defines ethnic profiling as "a type of racial discrimination carried out by people in positions of authority...(who) rely on stereotypes about ethnicity...rather than on reasonable suspicion". It details incidents of ethnic profiling in relation to immigration, profiling and social welfare, noting that this practice breaches equal treatment provisions under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The report makes various recommendations, including that further data be collated on ethnic training and that there be training for Gardai and the Department of Social Protection.

Please click here to view MRCI's press release and the report.


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