SF attacks British document on justice
Sinn Fein's Bairbre de Brun has warned that if proposed changes to
the justice system are based on the view expressed by the British
government in its consultation paper, then it is unlikely to win the
support of the nationalist population.
The consultation paper, released by the Criminal Justice Review
Group, states that the justice system existent in the Six Counties
has served the population well.
This claim was rubbished by de Brun who said in the party's
submission, which she made at the Interpoint Centre on Thursday 10
December, ``every human rights agency in the world, from Amnesty
International to Helsinki Watch, has accused Britain of torture,
summary execution and extensive violations of human rights. London
holds the distinction of having been found guilty before the European
Court of Human Rights more often than any other signatory since 1950''
According to Sinn Fein, what is required to deliver justice must
include equality before the law and in the institutions of the
justice system, and the removal of repressive legislation.
The party submission went on to call for ``a fair and impartial system
of justice that commands the support and confidence of all parts of
the community and which conforms to the highest standards of
international human rights and a policing service capable of
attracting support from the community as a whole and which is
representative of the community''.