Presidential pardon for a visa.

Reider41

Hey,

I'm completely confused about a presidential pardon in Ireland, regarding a criminal conviction.

Are they possible. ? And if so what is the application process for it ?

Thanks

ResearchWill

Article 13 6 of the constitution


6. The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President, but such power of commutation or remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities.

Peregrinus

So far as I know, the power of pardon is very rarely exercised, and usually only in response to an acknowledged miscarriage of justice which, for procedural or other reasons, cannot be rectified in the courts.

Nicky Kelly recieved a pardon in the early 1990s. I don't recall any other instance.

Manach

ResearchWill's post mentioned, "remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities." I had assumed that that pardons by any other authority, such as the Dept. of Justice had been struck down by the Supreme Court awhile back, to do with the separation of powers?

Peregrinus

Manach wrote: »

ResearchWill's post mentioned, "remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities." I had assumed that that pardons by any other authority, such as the Dept. of Justice had been struck down by the Supreme Court awhile back, to do with the separation of powers?

No, I think that just means that the Oireachtas can, by legislation, confer a power of pardon on someone other than the President.

So far as I know, the Oireachtas has never passed legislation of that kind.

Ken.

All Irish presidential pardons since 1938,

• 1940 Thomas Quinn granted by Douglas Hyde
• 1943 Walter Brady granted by Douglas Hyde
• 1992 Nicky Kelly granted by Mary Robinson
• 1999 William Geary granted by Mary McAleese

Source: Murdoch's Dictionary of Irish Law by Henry Murdoch, Page 566: 3rd Edition

Peregrinus

I remember the Geary case; it involved a bloke who had been dismissed from the Guards for suspected misconduct. But, unless I misremember, he was never charged, prosecuted or conficted of anything; he just lost his job and the associated pension rights. So there would have been no need for - indeed, no possiblity of - a pardon in the constitutional sense. Does Murdoch give any details, such as what the bloke was convicted of and pardoned for?

I have no knowledge of the Quinn or Brady cases; can anyone else shed any light?

Reider41

Thanks do much for the feedback guys. But the application process is still a blur to me.

If I have to write a letter who do I address it to, where so I send it and what would I have to include in the letter.

Marcusm

Reider41 wrote: »

Thanks do much for the feedback guys. But the application process is still a blur to me.

If I have to write a letter who do I address it to, where so I send it and what would I have to include in the letter.

As you can imagine, the fact that there have been 4 pardons over a 75 year period will mean that, unlike the US, there will not be a clearly defined process. However, it would seem logical that you should petition the president perhaps copying the attorney general but that getting the support of a politician and/or prominent persons might be a good approach.

Ken.

In Ireland the power of clemency is nominally exercised by the president. However the President of Ireland must act "on the advice" of the cabinet, so in practice such decisions are made by the government of the day and the president has no discretion in the matter. The responsibility can also be vested in persons or bodies other than the president. The Irish constitution states (in Article 13.6) that "The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President, but such power of commutation or remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities".

Criminal Procedure Act, 1993


7.—(1) If a person—

(a) who has been convicted of an offence,

(b) who after appeal against the conviction stands convicted of an offence, and

(c) who alleges that a new or newly-discovered fact shows that a miscarriage of justice has occurred in relation to the conviction,

petitions the Minister for Justice with a view to the Government advising the President to grant a pardon under Article 13.6 of the Constitution and no further proceedings are pending in relation to the appeal, the following provisions of this section shall apply.

(2) The Minister for Justice shall make or cause to be made such inquiries as he considers necessary and—

(a) if he is of opinion either—

(i) that the matters dealt with in the petition could appropriately be dealt with by way of an application to the Court pursuant to section 2 , or

(ii) that a case has not been made out that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and that no useful purpose would be served by further investigation,

shall inform the petitioner accordingly and take no further action, and

(b) in any other case, shall recommend to the Government either—

(i) that it should advise the President to grant a pardon in respect of the offence of which the applicant was convicted, or

(ii) that it should appoint a committee pursuant to section 8 to inquire into and report on the case.

(3) In subsection (1) (c) the reference to a new fact is to a fact known to the convicted person at the time of the trial or appeal proceedings the significance of which was appreciated by him, where he alleges that there is a reasonable explanation for his failure to adduce evidence of that fact.

(4) The reference in subsection (1) (c) to a newly-discovered fact is to a fact discovered by or coming to the notice of the convicted person after the relevant appeal proceedings have been finally determined or a fact the significance of which was not appreciated by the convicted person or his advisers during the trial or appeal proceedings.

(5) References in subsections (1) and (2) to the Minister for Justice shall, in relation to a conviction by court-martial, be construed as references to the Minister for Defence.

(6) Nothing in this section shall affect any functions of the Minister for Justice in relation to a petition to him from a person other than a person mentioned in subsection (1) with a view to the Government advising the President to grant a pardon under Article 13.6 of the Constitution.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/act/pub/0040/sec0007.html


In my layman's view of things what i think this means is that its the government that decides on the pardon and the president is just a rubber stamp.

Davyhal

Peregrinus wrote: »

I remember the Geary case; it involved a bloke who had been dismissed from the Guards for suspected misconduct. But, unless I misremember, he was never charged, prosecuted or conficted of anything; he just lost his job and the associated pension rights. So there would have been no need for - indeed, no possiblity of - a pardon in the constitutional sense. Does Murdoch give any details, such as what the bloke was convicted of and pardoned for?

I have no knowledge of the Quinn or Brady cases; can anyone else shed any light?

I remember reading about the Geary case before because he was stationed near where I live at the time that it happened. He was accused of accepting a bribe from the IRA when he was guard in Co. Clare back in the 1920s and was dishonourably discharged because of it. He lived to be over 100, and only received a pardon and pension 70 years after the alleged incident.

Peregrinus

As for the process, first you have to exhaust all your legal remedies - all your appeals, etc. Then you have to build a compelling case to show pretty conclusively either (a) you are definitely innocent, or (b) the legal process that was available to you was fundamentally flawed. Then you start lobbying the government.