Irish President supports the Rule of Law

Not, in itself, a startling headline.. but in addressing the Law Society of England and Wales on the theme of ‘Lawyers’ independence, the Rule of Law and national security – striking the balance’, I wonder if President Mary McAleese thought at all about her role, among many others, in ensuring that legal professionals and the courts are able to help to safeguard public confidence here. And I wonder if anyone in the audience thought to mention that ‘good’ UDA or, indeed, Jackie MacDonald, and whether the right balance was being struck here. Didn’t think so.. Adds see belowFrom the PA report on the UTV website

Ms McAleese said legal professionals had the choice to be courageous champions of a rule of law and stand in the role of vindicator, judge or advocate for the despised, or simply be operators of whatever the system decides, like the death camp soldiers.

She added that both they and the courts had to help safeguard public confidence.

Ms McAleese, a trained barrister, was speaking out at the conference, Lawyers Independence: The Rule Of Law And National Security – Striking The Balance, in London.

She said some lawyers have paid a cruel personal price for maintaining their independence and for insisting that respect for even the most calumnified defendant`s human and civil rights is a signature value, while terrorism does exactly the opposite.

“Terrorists value their own cause so highly that the rights and suffering of the individual are of no emotional or moral consequence to them except as a means to their own ends,” she said.

“We are rightly aghast at their easy contempt for the men, women and children from whom they so cruelly take life, health and peace of mind.”

Added Oh, and RTÉ reports that the President is – ‘persistently optimistic’ that the Northern Ireland parties will be able to reach a deal on the restoration of the Stormont Assembly by the November deadline.

“I have every hope that come November we are going to see the sea change that so many of us have been hoping and waiting for. I am very, very hopeful.”

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.