Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:14:45 +0000 (GMT)
From: William Finnerty <newinngalway@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: United Nations Complaints Procedure
To: "Dr Maurice Manning (President of Human Rights Commission, Republic of Ireland)" <info@ihrc.ie>,
"Chief Justice John L. Murray" <SupremeCourt@courts.ie>,
"Brian Lenihan TD (Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform" <Brian.Lenihan@oireachtas.ie>,
"Paul Gallagher S.C. (Attorney General, Republic of Ireland)" <info@ag.irlgov.ie>,
"Mr James Hamilton (Director of Public Prosecutions, Republic of Ireland)" <dppwebmaster@indigo.ie>,
"The Chief State Solicitor (Republic of Ireland)" <contact@csso.gov.ie>,
"Guardian of Republic of Ireland Constitution (President Mary McAleese)" <webmaster@president.ie>,
"Peter Sutherland (Former Attorney General, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International Bank, Steering Committee Member of the Bilderberg Group, and European Chairman of the Trilateral Commission)" <trilateral.europe@wanadoo.fr>,
"Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy (Chief Commissioner of Police, Republic of Ireland)" <comstaff@iol.ie>,
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde OBE <information@nipolicingboard.org.uk>
CC: Human Rights Ireland Yahoo Group <humanrightsireland@yahoogroups.com>, "The Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway" <humanrights@nuigalway.ie>,
"Senator Ivana Bacik, Barrister and Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Law School" <ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie>,
"Fianna Fail Party Leader, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern" <taoiseach@taoiseach.irlgov.ie>,
"Dr Walter F. Murphy (Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus at Princeton University)" <wmurphy37@comcast.net>,
"Cllr Phillip Cantwell (MCC and Trim TC)" <PCantwell@meathcoco.ie>,
"John Pilger (Documentary Film Maker)" <pilgereditor@gmail.com>,
"Shauna Gillan (Barrister, Matrix Chambers, London)" <shaunagillan@matrixlaw.co.uk>,
"John Reilly (Barrister, Tooks Chambers, London)" <clerks@tooks.co.uk>,
"Dr Jimmy Devins TD (Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children)" <info@jimmydevins.ie>,
Crooked-Lawyer Catcher <lawyercatcher@lawyer.com>,
"Northern Ireland Social Security Agency (Reference Disability Case Reference 52-82267 for YH615974D)" <Private.Office@dsdni.gov.uk>,
"Nikiforos Diamandouros (The European Ombudsman) Case ref: 1867/2006/IP )" <euro-ombudsman@europarl.eu.int>,
"The Registrar, European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, Strasbourg. (Re: ECHR Case Reference: 25077/05)" <infopoint@coe.int>,
Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP <webmaster@pmo.gov.uk>,
"Kathy Sinnott MEP, European Parliament Committee on Petitions" <ksinnott@europarl.eu.int>,
"Dr. Bob Bowman, Lt. Col., USAF, ret." <bob@thepatriots.us>,
"Jose Manuel Barroso (Lawyer & President of European Union Commission)" <sg-web-president@ec.europa.eu>,
"Marcin Libicki MEP (Chairman of European Parliament Committee on Petitions)" <marcin.libicki@europarl.europa.eu>,
Proinsias De Rossa MEP <pderossa@europarl.eu.int>,
Mairead McGuinness MEP <mmcguinness@europarl.eu.int>,
"Stavros Dimas (Lawyer, and European Union Commissioner for Environment)" <stavros.dimas@ec.europa.eu>,
"John Gormley TD (Green Party Leader & Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government)" <john.gormley@oireachtas.ie>,
"US Senator Barack Obama (Constitutional/Civil Rights Lawyer & US Presidential Hopeful)" <info@barackobama.com>,
"UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC)" <wh-info@unesco.org>,
World Monuments Fund <wmf@wmf.org>,
"Europa Nostra, Pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage (Mrs Sneška Quaedvlieg Mihailoviæ)" <sg@europanostra.org>,
"Dr Gerard Hogan (Senior Constitutional Lawyer, Fellow, Trinity College, Dublin)" <hogang@tcd.ie>,
"Greg Nolan (Lawyer at Patrick Hogan & Co., Ballinalsloe, County Galway, Republic of Ireland)" <greg@phoganandco.com>,
"Gerard J Madden (Senior Social Worker, Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland)" <gmadden@slt.n-i.nhs.uk>,
"Adrian O' Kane (Lawyer at Patrick Fahy & Co, Omagh.)" <adrian.okane@pfahy.com>,
"Progressive Democrats Party Leader, Health Minister Mary Harney" <info@maryharney.ie>,
"Gerald Finnerty & Marjorie Dolan (New Inn, County Galway)" <margieandgerald@yahoo.ie>,
European Commission Representation in Ireland <eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu>,
"Willie Corduff, Rossport 5" <info@goldmanprize.org>,
"Sir Anthony O'Reilly, Newspaper Proprietor" <independent.letters@unison.independent.ie>,
"Fine Gael Party Leader, Enda Kenny" <Enda.Kenny@oireachtas.ie>,
Transparency International Ireland <info@transparency.ie>,
Jack Straw MP <lordchancellor@dca.gsi.gov.uk>,
"Dr Garrett Fitzgerald (Chancellor of the National University of Ireland)" <registrar@nui.ie>,
Law Society of Ireland <general@lawsociety.ie>,
Former US President Bill Clinton <clinton.library@nara.gov>,
"Josep Borrell Fontelles (President of the European Parliament)" <webmasterpresident@europarl.eu.int>,
"Sinn Fein Party Leader, Gerry Adams MP" <info@sinnfein.org>,
Liam Aylward MEP <laylward@europarl.eu.int>,
"Dr Mark Clinton (Heritage Protection Alliance of Ireland Co-ordinator)" <norahbk@eircom.net>,
"Macquarie Bank (PPP Financiers)" <info@macquarie.com.au>,
"David Cameron MP (Leader of UK Opposition Party)" <camerond@parliament.uk>,
"Rev Ian Paisley, Democratic Unionist Party" <info@dup.org.uk>,
"Labour Party Leader, Eamon Gilmore" <eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie>,
"Marie Murray (Senior Psychologist & Irish Times Columnist)" <mmurray@irish-times.ie>,
Irish Examiner Newspaper <jill.osullivan@tcm.ie>,
The Law Society of England and Wales <info@lawsociety.org.uk>,
"Majella Mc Carron (Shell to Sea)" <majella_mccarron@yahoo.co.uk>,
"Eamon Ryan TD (Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources" <eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie>,
Suzon Forscey-Moore <suzonfm@aol.com>, Sky News <news@sky.com>,
"Geraldine Kennedy, Irish Times Editor" <gkennedy@irish-times.ie>,
Julitta Clancy <julitta1@hotmail.com>,
"Charlie Bird (RTE Chief News Correspondent)" <charlie.bird@rte.ie>,
Executive Intelligence Review <eirns@larouchepub.com>,
Nelson Mandela <nmf@nelsonmandela.org>,
"Former President Mary Robinson (Ethical Globalization Initiative)" <info@eginitiative.org>,
"RTE (Republic of Ireland's National TV Station)" <newsdesk@rte.ie>,
"Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz (Economist)" <jes322@columbia.edu>,
"Ciara Macklin (Lawyer, Fair & Murtagh)" <ciaramacklin@fair-murtagh.ie>,
Meirion Bowen <meirionbowen@btopenworld.com>,
"Ashley Mote (Independent MEP for South East England Region)" <ashley.mote@btconnect.com>,
"President of the Council of the European Union (Luís Filipe Marques Amado)" <press.office@consilium.europa.eu>,
Irish Embassy - London <christina.mccormack@dfa.ie>,
"Patrick M. Wood" <editor@augustreview.com>,
"Jacques Barrot (Vice-president of the European Commission with responsibility for Transport" <cab-archive-barrot@ec.europa.eu>,
Dr Paul Craig Roberts <PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com>,
"Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (Thomas Hammarberg)" <commissioner.humanrights@coe.int>,
"Gearoid Geraghty (Lawyer, Fair & Murtagh, Ballinasloe)" <gearoidgeraghty@fair-murtagh.ie>,
Jim Allister MEP <jimallister@dup.org.uk>, Campaign@democracydefined.org,
"Liam Cashman (Environmental Directorate, The European Commission)" <Liam-Joseph.Cashman@ec.europa.eu>,
"Minister Trevor Sargent TD (Green Party)" <Trevor.Sargent@oireachtas.ie>,
"Venice Commission (Council of Europe)" <venice@coe.int>,
MhjnAshok2@aol.com,
"PatrickReynolds (Irish in Britain Representation Group)" <patrickreynolds@hotmail.com>,
Dr John Wilson <jhwilson@acay.com.au>,
"The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)" <info@iccl.ie>,
Amnesty International UK <press@amnesty.org.uk>,
"President George W. Bush" <president@whitehouse.gov>,
"Louise Arbour (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)" <ngochr@ohchr.org>,
"Ban Ki-moon (Secretary-General of the United Nations)" http://ie.f259.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=public.participation@unece.org
 

Dear Dr Manning,
  
With reference to the e-mail I copied to you on January 3rd 2008 (see at http://www.humanrightsireland.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/3January2008/Email.htm ), please note that I still have not received any reply from Chief Justice Murray to the registered letter I sent to him on August 28th 2007 (copy at  http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/28August2007/Letter.htm ). 
  
Neither have I heard anything from any of Justice Murray's senior lawyer colleagues, who have been reminded on a number of occasions by e-mail regarding the unexplained delay relating to a reply to my registered letter dated August 28th 2007.
  
All I have received so far is the confirmation of receipt letter from Chief Justice Murray's Private Secretary (Ms Carol Kelly), which can be viewed at http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/Reply/29August2007/Letter.htm .
  
I would like to stress that it is now well over five years ago since I was charged with a criminal offence (which provides for a jail sentence of up to six months) by the authorities in the Republic of Ireland, and that I still cannot find a lawyer who is willing to discuss my legal rights (under human rights law) with me, let alone use human rights law to help me prepare my defence before appearing in court. 
  
This ongoing situation continues to appear to me to be an extremely straightforward and serious violation of my legal rights under Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the Republic of Ireland's European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (copy available via http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=European+Convention+on+Human+Rights+Act+2003&btnG=Google+Search ).
  
If I am to receive justice, it seems to me that my legal defence against the criminal charges being made against me, of necessity has to be (and through no fault of mine) very complex; and, among other things, it involves several issues relating to items of Republic of Ireland legislation produced in recent years which I (and many others) believe are unconstitutional, and consequently unlawful. Not only does such unconstitutional legislation undermine Bunreacht na hEireann (the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland), it also of course automatically undermines the sovereignty of the Republic of Ireland nation state as well: which I, and many others I believe, find deeply disturbing. 
  
Allowing for the contents of the paragraph just above, the main reason I sent my letter of August 28th 2007 to Chief Justice Murray was because I knew that he would have had to have subscribed to Article 34.5.1° of Bunreacht na hEireann in order for him to hold his present job title and position. As you will no doubt already know, Article 34.5.1° reads as follows:
  
"Every person appointed a judge under this Constitution shall make and subscribe the following declaration: 'In the presence of Almighty God I,      , do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and power execute the office of Chief Justice (or as the case may be) without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any man, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. May God direct and sustain me.' ". 
  
For a very brief general outline of the overall set of legal problems I am at present struggling with, and the general kind of background they are placed in, please see www.humanrightsireland.com .
  
At the present time, over five years after being charged with the criminal offence in question, and many wholly avoidable and major complications later, I also continue to believe that the only just way to resolve the growing set of legal problems connected with my case is through the use of Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the Republic of Ireland's European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, which, as you will already know, reads as follows: 
  
"Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity." 
  
I would also like to stress that I have spent most of the past five years living in forced exile outside the Republic of Ireland jurisdiction, because that is the only way I have been able to avoid being forced to appear before a kangaroo court - i.e. a sham legal proceeding, the outcome of which is essentially made in advance, for the purpose of providing a conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or by allowing no defence at all: or both. 
  
Also, and for the purpose of removing any doubt, it has always been my understanding that my court case, were I foolish enough to attend the kind of kangaroo court in question, that is, would be decided on a "Trial by Judge" basis, and that I would not (under any circumstances) be allowed a "Trial by Jury": despite the possibility of I being given a six month prison sentence for the particular criminal offence I have been charged with. 
  
In connection with my case, I feel it may be important for me to point out to you that while seeking legal help in England, around April 2003, I was very strongly assured by a professional counsellor working in a large health centre in Shrewsbury (who was appointed through my GP at the time), that all charges against me had been dropped, and that consequently it would be completely safe for me to return to the Republic of Ireland.
  
Convinced that the assurance from the above mentioned counsellor was genuine, I acted on it and returned to my home in the Republic of Ireland in May 2003.  
  
For a lengthy period, the counsellor's assurance did appear to be completely genuine and safe: until late November 2004 that is. Then, and for no good reason that I know of, I suddenly received a visit from Guard Thomas Kenny (local policeman in New Inn, County Galway) informing me that the whole criminal charge business had been reactivated by his superiors, and that he was unable to provide me with any explanation as to why. He claimed to know absolutely nothing of the assurances I had received from the counsellor in Shrewsbury (referred to above).
  
In addition, Guard Kenny threatened to force me to appear in court in early December 2004, thereby giving me no realistic chance at all to properly prepare my defence: if I was not willing to appear in court voluntarily (as he was demanding I should). It was at this point that I rapidly left the Republic of Ireland for a second time: in the hope of finding the kind of legal help I by then felt I desperately needed, in Northern Ireland (i.e. legal help which recognises the factual existence of human rights law). 
  
Unfortunately, I have found the legal profession in Northern Ireland to be just as allergic to human rights law as their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland. 
  
I feel I should also now point out to you that the original charge made against me in 2002 was mysteriously changed (a month or so later) to a much more serious one. I have never received any explanation as to why the original relatively trivial charge against me was suddenly dropped, and simultaneously replaced by a much more serious one that involved the possibility of criminalisation for "assault", plus the possibility of a six month prison sentence as well. 
  
Recently, and with due regard for the ongoing failure of Chief Justice Murray and his senior lawyer colleagues to reply to my letter dated August 28th 2007, I have been considering sending a petition to the United Nations in connection with my case. However, on reading the United Nations Complaint Procedures, I notice that great stress is understandably placed on the need to have "exhausted all possible remedies in your own State before bringing a complaint to a committee" (as can be seen via http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Complaints,+UN+human+rights+treaty+violations&btnG=Search ).  
  
By providing you with the information about my case contained in this e-mail, I hope that you will be able to help me resolve my set of legal difficulties (in a just way), and without I having to formally complain to the United Nations. 
  
As stated above, I believe the only way I can achieve justice is through the use of  Article 13 of the Republic of Ireland's European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. 
  
Put in nutshell, and correctly or otherwise, it appears to me that Chief Justice Murray and his colleagues in the Republic of Ireland's legal profession are caught up in some kind of a much outdated mindset which has them collectively believing that it is okay for them to place themselves above human rights law, and, at the same time, to place me beneath it.
  
Everything that my circumstances have forced me to learn about human rights law during recent years tells me that the mindset I refer to just above is completely contrary to all of the basic principles of human rights law (as set out by the United Nations since 1948).  
  
In very simple terms, it seems to me that nobody has the right to put themselves above the law, and that nobody has the authority to put anybody beneath it either. 
  
Later today I will send a printed and signed copy of this e-mail to you through the registered post.  
  
For future reference purposes, I will also place an electronic copy of this e-mail at the following address (with copy of Post Office registered letter receipt included):
http://www.humanrightsireland.com/DrMauriceManning/15January2008/Email.htm 
  
I hope to receive a substantial written response from you within the coming 21 days please, and I will write my postal address on the printed copy (of this e-mail) which I plan to send to you later today through the registered post.  
  
Yours sincerely,
  
William Finnerty.