Ireland: Defendants with delayed trials to be able to apply for compensation
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Defendants in Ireland who face unreasonable delays to their criminal trials will be able to apply for compensation under planned legislation, according to reports.
The European Convention on Human Rights (Amendment) Bill is currently being drafted by the Department of Justice in response to a European Court of Human Rights judgment in 2010, The Irish Times reports.
The European Court held in McFarlane v Ireland that the Irish state was in breach of article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the ECHR because there was no effective remedy for a breach of the constitutional right to reasonable expedition.
There is no clear timescale for the new legislation, but there is concern that the backlog of criminal trials caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a slew of compensation claims once it is in place.
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