Commissions of Investigation and Procedural Fairness

Association of Catholic Priests
October 29, 2013

http://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Commissions-of-Investigation-and-Procedural-Fairness.pdf

[Murphy Report - BishopAccountability.org]

[full text]

A Review from a legal perspective of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 and of the

Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin (the “Murphy Report”) forwarded to the Minister on 21 July 2009 and released on 26 November 2009

Note on the genesis of this document

When the Report of the “Murphy Commission” was released on 26thNovember 2009 it received exhaustive coverage and commentary in the media.

Commendation for the work of the Commission was almost universal. However, in light of some emerging concerns, the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) in Ireland decided on a “post-match” review of Commissions of Investigation in general and the Murphy Commission in particular and requested Fergal Sweeney, an Irish barrister who has also served as a judge for many years in Hong Kong to undertake this review from a purely legal perspective.

This review is not intended to take away from the vast and valuable work accomplished by the Murphy Commission. It does not aim in any way to draw attention from the injustice and suffering of those who were abused by clerics in positions of trust, which gross injustice was aggravated by the many failures in addressing complaints brought to Church and State Authorities. It does not seek to absolve the failures of those in positions of authority in Church and State.

Rather, this review wishes to address certain areas of concern relating to statutory investigations under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 as a matter of natural and Constitutional justice.