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Perjury not a victimless crime, Seanad hears

The Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018: has reached its Second Stage in the Seanad.

Independent Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh said that the charge of perjury is very often levelled in highly contentious proceedings when there is no evidence of perjury having been committed.

“This is further evidence that perjury requires a definition in law that judges, An Garda Siochana, the DPP, and ultimately a jury, can unambiguously understand.

“It is an indication of how long perjury has been a crime in Ireland that it was necessary in the Bill to amend the Maintenance and Embracery Act 1540 and the Perjury Act 1791, but unlike in Great Britain and Northern Ireland where perjury was made a statutory criminal offence, rather than being left as a common law offence, as it is in Ireland, we have never included it in the Statute Book,” Ó Céidigh said.

“Perjury is not a victimless crime,” he continued.

“Murderers have no doubt evaded jail through the connivance of sworn witnesses. People’s reputations have been destroyed and lives ruined as a result of deliberate lies told in court.

"Businesses have faced soaring insurance premium costs as a result of the actions of fraudsters seeking to game the system," he said.

Former Justice minister and Attorney General Michael McDowell congratulated Senator Ó Céidigh on his “persistence and determination” in bringing the Bill forward. 

He echoed Senator O Ceidigh’s thanks to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, for its “remarkable work”.

Exaggerating

Referring to the 2004 act which he introduced when he was Minister for Justice, he said “I do not know whether there have been any successful criminal prosecutions under it but I am aware that solicitors and lawyers acting for their clients are under a duty to warn them that they may commit an offence which carries, I believe, a ten-year penalty for falsely making or exaggerating personal injury claims. 

“I also know that members of the judiciary, some more reluctantly than others – every judge is different – have had resort to the provisions of that Act which allowed them to entirely dismiss a claim which is materially and knowingly falsely made. That has been some improvement,” he said.

“As Senator Ó Céidigh stated, it is a matter of huge importance to the victims of perjury that there should at least be some penalty for those who attempt to inflict injustice on them. 

Perjured evidence

“I refer here not only to cases which are lost as a result of perjury but also to those which are brought on the basis of perjured evidence, which proceed some considerable distance down the track and in which costs are incurred by, for example, small businesses.

“This is an important step forward. It is not the first time it has been suggested that the law of perjury should be put on a statutory basis,” he said.

Senator McDowell said that during the course of his career as a barrister he had seen many judges in civil cases say they will send the papers on the matter in question to the Director of Public Prosecutions, thus inviting the prosecution of someone for perjury. 

The new legislation is not premised on the original notion of perjury, he said, of a declaration before God sworn on the Bible.

Unsworn testimony

It encompasses false statements made in statutory declarations or unsworn testimony such as testimony on affirmation. 

The administration of justice and its quality depend, in the last analysis, on the quality of the evidence received, Senator McDowell said. 

“If it inures to the benefit of the person tendering false testimony that there is no real prospect of being penalised or punished in criminal law, then we can only expect that the quality of justice in our courts will be diminished,” he said.

Statutory basis

“Conversely, if we can put in place a workable statutory basis for the criminal prosecution of those who perjure, either on oath or in affirmation in documents or oral testimony, then we can only look forward to improvement in the quality of justice.

“I commend the Bill to the House and I congratulate Senator Ó Céidigh on his initiative in bringing the Bill before us,” he said.