Corrib Jailings

mayo | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday June 30, 2005 09:33 by Ed

RTE does not want to know

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Copy of Email sent to RTE – Morning Ireland programme

I just spoke to your researcher, Niall, regarding the Shell Corrib Gas jailing which took place yesterday.

Niall refused to accept that those men have been jailed without their case being heard. That is, that they were jailed for failure to abide by an injunction which had been granted to Shell pending the hearing of their case.

The truth is that Shell has consistently frustrated the hearing of the case by using court procedures to have the hearing repeatedly adjourned. Despite six trips to the High Court over the past four months no hearing of their case has taken place. It is currently set for October next. Each journey to the High Court entails 400 miles round trip – 2,400 miles to date! Costs have mounted proportionately, yet no access to justice has been afforded.

In the meantime Shell are using the protection of the injunction to progress the pipeline work. In effect they are using the interim injunction, which by definition is a very short-term restraining measure, to achieve a fait accompli. That is, the pipeline which is the centre of contention will be completed by this means before the case is heard.

This is the real scandal of yesterday’s jailings- that procedures which are intended to facilitate access to justice are being used to frustrate that access. This is a fundamental yet common abuse of our court system and ultimately of our constitution.

Please bring this information to the attention of your listeners.