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Legal Challenge to Electoral Acts
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
press release
Tuesday May 22, 2007 12:38 by Michael Smith - HEAT michaelsmith at eircom dot net
HEAT to litigate anti-democratic restrictions on NGOs HEAT, a Company campaigning on global warming, has issued legal proceedings against the Electoral Act 1997 for unconstitutionally restricting the rights of Non-Governmental Organisations (i.e. Campaigners) to campaign. HEAT, a company campaigning on the issue of global warming, today issued proceedings by plenary summons in the High Court against the Electoral Act 1997. Michael Smith, a director of HEAT, claimed the Act had a “chilling effect on democracy by sowing confusion among NGOs about whether they can take donations and whether they need to register as “a third party”". This prevented HEAT from participating in the general election to the extent it wished. The Act restricts the amount a Company can receive for political purposes from any donor to €6,349. But it is not clear what “political purposes” means and many NGOs are loth to accept donations above this amount for that reason. The plenary summons grounding the legal action claims that sections 25, 23 A, and 23 C of the Electoral Act 1997 are unconstitutional. Section 25 creates a criminal offence if monies above this amount given to NGOs for political purposes are not returned to the donor. Section 23A prohibits the receipt of more than €6349 annually by NGOs for political purposes. Section 23C requires NGOs to register with the Standards in Public Office Commission as “third parties” if they accept over 130 Euro for political purposes. HEAT is seeking a declaration that the Oireachtas acted unconstitutionally by creating a vague standard to which criminal sanction applies and which places the Plaintiff and other like bodies in a position of not knowing whether the acceptance of financial donations for the purposes of promoting its views in the public domain will, or will not attract criminal sanction. HEAT is also seeking a declaration that the Oireachtas acted unconstitutionally in making the rules because they restrict freedom of association and freedom of expression. |