COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THURSDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2010
ROOM 29, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Lord Morrow MLA (Chairman)
Lord Browne MLA
Mr Thomas Buchanan MLA
Sir Reg Empey MLA
Mr Paul Givan MLA
Mr Alban Maginness MLA
Mr Conall McDevitt MLA
Mr David McNarry MLA
Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA
Mr John O’Dowd MLA
In Attendance:
Mrs Christine Darrah (Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Roisin Donnelly (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Vincent Gribbin (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr Joe Westland (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Kevin Marks (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Mr Raymond McCartney MLA (Deputy Chairman)
The meeting commenced at 2.03 p.m. in public session.
The Chairman welcomed Sir Reg Empey to his first Justice Committee meeting following his appointment as a member of the Committee.
The Committee noted Sir Reg Empey’s entry in the Register of Members’ Interests
1. Apologies
Apologies are detailed above.
2. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2010
Agreed: The Committee approved the draft minutes of the meeting of 4 November 2010.
3. Matters arising
i. The Committee noted correspondence from the Committee for Finance and Personnel regarding the outcome of its evidence session with DFP officials on the UK Spending Review Budget 2011-15.
ii. The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister of Justice regarding conclusions he had reached on relevant recommendations contained in the Billy Wright Inquiry Report and the approach he had adopted with the Secretary of State.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that the Minister of Justice should attend a meeting to discuss the issues further.
iii. The Committee noted correspondencefromthe Minister of Justice regarding the final report on the arrangements for preparing, checking and issuing Crown Court Orders following the identification of administrative errors in the preparation of Court Orders in the McDermott case.
iv. The Committee considered the CJI and RQIA Reports on the Donagh case.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that it and the Health Committee should jointly meet with the victims of the Donagh case to discuss the reports.
v. The Committee considered the report of the Inquiry into the Erroneous Release by the NI Prison Service of two prisoners.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that any issues arising from the report could be raised with the Minister of Justice when he attended a Committee meeting to discuss the Billy Wright Inquiry Report.
vi. The Committee noted a copy of the Judgement in a recent court case at Omagh Crown Court, which was raised at the previous Committee meeting.
vii. The Committee considered correspondence from the Law Society of Northern Ireland regarding the withdrawal of Solicitor Advocacy clauses from the Justice Bill.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to forward a copy of the correspondence to the Minister of Justice seeking his views/comments and what action, if any, he intended to take in relation to the matter.
Agreed: A copy of the protocol between the Attorney General and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister should be circulated to all Committee Members.
ix. The Committee noted the Northern Ireland Policing Board Assessment Report. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman were due to meet the Acting Chairman, Acting Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Policing Board to discuss the report on 23 November and would report back to the Committee after the meeting.
x. The Committee considered arising from the visit to Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre on 11 November 2010.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to request a research paper on Mental Health issues in prisons.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Lord Chief Justice recommending visits to the Young Offenders Centre and other prison establishments as part of a familiarisation training programme would be beneficial.
4. The Justice Bill – Oral evidence sessions
The Committee considered proposals for which organisations will be called to give oral evidence sessions on the Justice Bill on 25 November and 2 December 2010.
Agreed: The Committee agreed the proposed arrangements for oral evidence sessions.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to provide relevant information on the Sports clauses to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure and to grant the extension requested.
Briefing by Department of Justice Officials on Clauses 36 to 55 and Schedule 3 of the Justice Bill
Gareth Johnston, Deputy Director of Justice Strategy Division, Tom Haire, Justice Bill Manager, David Mercer, Criminal Law Branch and Ciaran Mee, an official from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure joined the meeting at 2.38 p.m.
The officials briefed the Committee on the intent and content of clauses 36 to 55 and Schedule 3 of the Sports Bill relating to Sports Law and answered questions from Members on the throwing of missiles; the sale of tickets by unauthorised persons; drinking and being drunk at regulated matches; and banning orders.
The Chairman thanked the officials for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Briefing by Sport NI on the Justice Bill
Nick Harkness, Director of Participation and Facilities, and Paul Scott, Manager of the Facilities Unit joined the meeting at 3.10 p.m.
The representatives briefed the Committee on SportNI’s comments on the Sports Law clauses of the Justice Bill and answered questions from Members on issues such as the rationale and necessity for the sport law clauses; the impact of similar legislation in England and Wales; the definition of an offensive weapon; and the controlled sale and consumption of alcohol at regulated matches.
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Briefing by Ulster Rugby and Ulster Rugby Supporters Club on the Justice Bill
Lindsey Irwin, Senior Manager, External Relations, Ulster Rugby, Ian Cambell, Chair of Ulster Rugby Supporters Club, Robin Cole, Senior Manager, External Relations, Ulster Rugby, and Joe Eagleson, Past Honorary Secretary, IRFU Ulster Branch joined the meeting at 3.43 p.m.
The representatives briefed the Committee on Ulster Rugby and Ulster Rugby Supporters Club’s comments on the Sports Law clauses, and in particular clause 43, of the Justice Bill and answered questions from Members on issues such as an exemption from the sale of alcohol clauses; the comparisons with England and Wales legislation; and the current arrangements for dealing with disruption at Rugby grounds.
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Briefing by Ulster GAA on the Justice Bill
Danny Murphy, Provincial Director, Ryan Feeney, Head of Public Affairs and Stephen McGeehan, Head of Operations joined the meeting at 4.13 p.m.
The representatives briefed the Committee on Ulster GAA ’s comments on the Sports Law clauses of the Justice Bill and answered questions from Members on issues such as what constitutes a regulated match; the requirements arising from the Safety of Sports Grounds legislation; and the ability to enforce the legislation.
4.23 p.m. Mr McDevitt left the meeting
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Briefing by Irish Football Association (IFA) on the Justice Bill
Patrick Nelson, Chief Executive, Terry Pateman, Vice President, Hugh Wade, Director and Stephen Grange, National Security Officer joined the meeting at 4.43 p.m.
The representatives briefed the Committee on the Irish Football Association’s comments on the Sports Law clauses of the Justice Bill and answered questions from Members on issues such as the stewarding of matches; the necessity of the sports legislation; and the role of the legislation in altering the behavior of individuals attending matches.
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Briefing by the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs (AONISC) on the Justice Bill
Gary McAlister and Chris Andrews, from the Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs joined the meeting at 5.15 p.m.
The representatives briefed the Committee on AONISC’s comments on the Sports Law clauses of the Justice Bill and answered questions from Members on issues such as the necessity of the legislation; the consumption of alcohol in viewing facilities; the possession of alcohol on private hire transport; and ticket touting .
The Chairman thanked the representatives for the briefing.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Response by Department of Justice officials on the issues raised by the sporting organisations
Gareth Johnston, Deputy Director of Justice Strategy Division, Tom Haire, Justice Bill Manager, David Mercer, Criminal Law Branch and Ciaran Mee, an official from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure returned to the table at 5.45 p.m.
The Departmental officials responded to the issues raised by the sporting organisations on the sports clauses.
6.02 p.m. Mr McNarry left the meeting
The Chairman thanked the officials for the briefing and they left the meeting.
The evidence session was recorded by Hansard.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to discuss the written and oral evidence on the sports clauses at the meeting on 2 December.
5. Proposals to reduce the size of the network of organisations registered with AccessNI
The Committee considered correspondence from the Department of Justice regarding AccessNIproposals to consult on plans to reduce the size of the network of organisations that can countersign applications for standard and enhanced disclosures.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to request a copy of the results of the consultation exercise prior to the development of the SL1 policy proposal.
6. Proposals for Compliance with the Public Participation Directive on Access to Justice in Environmental Claims
The Committee noted that the Court of Judicature Rules Committee would consider draft Rules in early considered correspondence from the Department of Justice proposing that court rules should be made which make provision in respect of compliance with the Public Participation Directive and address the concerns raised by the European Commission on access to justice in environmental claims cases. The Committee supported the intention of the Department of Justice to also give consideration to putting the law for protected cost orders in other public interest cases on a statutory footing.
7. Draft Market Surveillance (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008) Regulations 2010
The Committee noted that the new BIS Regulations – the draft Market Surveillance (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008) Regulations 2010 will extend the enforcement powers in the Placing on the Market and Supervision of Transfers of Explosives (POMSTER) and the Minister of Justice will provide the consultation response document in due course.
8: Chairman’s Business
i. The Chairman informed the Committee that he had received an invitation from NIACRO to a breakfast briefing on Friday 26 November with the Right Honourable Henry McLeish who chaired the Scottish Prisons Review Commission but unfortunately was unable to attend. Mr Maginness indicated that he intends to go to the event and Ms Ni Chuilín indicated she may attend.
ii. The Chairman reminded the Committee that the informal meetings with a range of organisations would take place on Monday 29 November from 3.30p.m. to 5.00p.m. in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings.
Agreed: Members agreed to notify the Clerk of their availability for the event as soon as possible.
9. Correspondence
i. The Committee noted correspondence from the Department of Justice regarding the Part-Time Reserve Gratuity Scheme.
ii. The Committee considered correspondence from the Department of Justice regarding changes to the Cycle Racing Legislation and issues relating to delegation of powers from the police to marshalls.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to forward the correspondence to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Committee for Regional Development.
iii. The Committee noted correspondence from the Minister of Justice regarding his intention to make provision for a new DNA/Fingerprint Retention Framework by way of an Assembly Bill with accelerated passage rather than a Legislative Consent Motion.
iv. The Committee noted correspondence from the Minister of Justice providing a copy of the Gender Specific Standards for Working With Women Prisoners published by the NI Prison Service and launched on 17 November 2010.
v. The Committee noted correspondence from the Department of Justice regarding a delay in publishing the CJI report on Domestic Violence and Abuse to late November.
vi. The committee noted a Criminal Justice Inspectorate Report on Roads Policing: A follow up review of inspection recommendations.
vii. The Committee noted correspondence from the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister providing a copy of the Lifetime Opportunities Monitoring Framework Baseline Report.
viii. The Committee noted the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2008.
ix. The Committee noted correspondence from Strictly Boardroom regarding research entitled ‘ Does the appointment of board members bring added value to the governance of boards in the public and not for profit sectors?"
x. The Committee noted correspondence from the Chairman of the Access to Justice Review Team providing a number of documents including the agenda to be covered by the Review.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to request a Research Briefing paper on a number of documents recently published in other jurisdictions including a Legal Aid Green Paper in England and Wales.
10. Any Other Business
None
11. Date and Time of next Meeting
The next Committee meeting will be held on Thursday 25 November 2010 at 2.00 p.m. in the Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings.
6.50 p.m. The Chairman adjourned the meeting.
Lord Morrow of Clogher Valley MLA
Chairman, Committee for Justice
25 November 2010
04 November 10 / Menu
