Right to Silence

Our man in Havana

Does the concept of a right to silence exist at all in an Irish context? Does the constitution protect/give this right?

Mortmain

As far as i'm aware, there is no constitutional right to silence in Ireland, just as there is no right to privacy per se. There is a right to a fair trail enshrined in the ECHR which may be arguable, but it seems that recent Irish case law has steered away from such an approach. At the end of the day I presume it depends on what the court is willing to infer from any relevant provision. There is an interesting article here if you're interested.

http://www.lawlibrary.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=106&Catid=17&StartDate=01+January+1999&m=

Thirdfox

Right to silence is enshrined as part of the fair procedures of a trial. (And that is specifically protected under the Constitution).

Some sections of the Offences Against the State Act 1937-1998 take away the right to silence by imposing jail sentences for refusing to answer questions but the ECHR has stated that this contravenes the Convention on human rights. So yes, right to silence is definitely part of the Irish legal system.

maidhc

Is a judge not allowed to draw fair inferences from a refusal to answer a question. E.g. Why did you walk out of the store without paying... I know such a refusal cannot form the basis of a charge, but if there is other evidence my understanding is it can have a corroborative effect.

Thirdfox

I think silence when present with damnifying evidence can be taken as guilt e.g. why were you holding that bloody knife when leaving the room of a dead person?

But the point is that they can't force you to talk with threats of punishment otherwise.