Policing and Justice
By Jamie Bryson @JamieBrysonCPNI This weekend marks 30 years since the killing of republican solicitor Pat Finucane by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) in Belfast, who said in a statement at the time that they had not killed Pat Finucane the solicitor but “Pat Finucane, the IRA officer”. It cannot be disputed that Finucane came […]
By Jamie Bryson This week Belfast High Court will rule on an application by lawyers acting for Michael Stone seeking certification of an appeal to the Supreme Court. This follows last week’s decision by the Divisional Court, with Mr Justice McCloskey and Mr Justice Colton sitting, to rule that Michael Stone must remain in prison […]
By Jamie Bryson The upcoming Judicial Review (JR) I have brought before the High Court raises important issues around the exercise of police powers and the issue of journalistic material being seized beyond the scope of warrants. It will, naturally, affect me as the applicant- but more importantly it will have ramifications for a wide […]
A leaked document obtained by Unionist Voice shows that the PSNI sought to obtain a simple undertaking from the republican Felons club not to advertise on social media, in exchange for dropping any objections to their clubs registration. A social club has to be registered in line with the Registration of Clubs Order 1996. This […]
It has been discovered that the Department of Justice PACE Codes of Practice, published under an Alliance Justice Minister in May 2015, contain a reference in Code B to a piece of legislation which was repealed in 1998. You can read the full Code B document HERE The discovery came after the PSNI were forced to amend their notices […]
In recent months there has been an ongoing, and legally questionable, campaign of harassment waged against a number of licensed premises and individual door supervisors. This has been supported by the PSNI who have allowed the SIA to use their powers under PACE, despite there being no legal basis for such an arrangement. Despite the […]
The SIA is a statutory body corporate whose power is derived from the Private Security Industry Act 2001. A statutory body corporate can only act in accordance with the power given to it by its enabling statute. Despite this basic legal fact, the SIA have been going far beyond their powers. Despite Parliament plainly setting […]
Editorial- By Jamie Bryson A statement by nationalist legacy activist and solicitor Paddy Murray, which has been carried in today’s media, stands as a shining example of the double standards of nationalism when it comes to the criminal justice system. Paddy Murray was an ardent supporter of the Loughinisland film No Stone Unturned, which was […]
By Jamie Bryson In another huge embarrassment for the PSNI, it appears that the written notice provided to a person whose home has been searched and/or had property seized contains reference to a piece of non-existent legislation. Under the PACE Notice of Powers and Rights, legally required to be provided to the subject of […]
Editorial- By Jamie Bryson Let me begin this piece by very clearly summarising the core point, lest anyone- either mistakenly or deliberately- misinterprets the argument being advanced. If there is criminal activity taking place, regardless of whom it is carried out by or from which community it emanates, then the perpetrators should be rooted out […]