A teenager charged with murder has launched a High Court challenge aimed at halting his trial until new laws protecting his rights have been enacted.
The action has been brought by John Mulrooney Sugrue (19), of Manorfield Green, Clonee, Dublin, who is charged with the murder of Aaron Keating on Main Street, Ongar, Dublin 15 on June 13th, 2023.
The applicant, whose case is pending before the Central Criminal Court, was a minor when the alleged offence is said to have occurred.
The applicant, represented by Seamus Clarke SC, argues that if he is convicted of murder, the sentencing judge will have no option other than to impose a mandatory life sentence on him.
In such a scenario, the judge will not be able to take into account that the alleged offence took place when Mr Mulrooney Sugrue was a minor.
The fact that a person in the applicant's position would not be able to receive a determinate sentence or a review, it is claimed, amounts to a breach of his constitutional rights, and his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights, it is argued.
The current legal situation, it is claimed, has prejudiced the applicant and his legal advisors' ability to advise him.
As part of his arguments to the court, the applicant submits that the 2019 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that states abolish all forms of life imprisonment, including indeterminate sentences for all offences committed by persons who were below the age of 18 at the time of the commission of the offence.
It is claimed that this situation has come about due to a legal oversight, rather than through an intentional decision by the Oireachtas.
However, the applicant claims that it is vital that the issues raised in this case are addressed before he is obliged to indicate a plea in respect of the charge he faces.
Challenge
In his action against the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ireland and the Attorney General, Mr Mulrooney Sugrue seeks various orders and declarations, including an order preventing his further prosecution until such time as provision is made in law for sentencing powers which are capable of reflecting the fact he was a child at the time of the alleged offence, and an order for damages for the breach of his constitutional rights.
He also seeks a declaration that the State has breached his constitutional rights by failing to have a sentencing regime in place that allows a sentencing judge to take account of the fact that a convicted person was a child at the time they committed the offence of murder.
He further seeks declarations, including that the part of the 2001 Children's Act is under-inclusive as it fails to provide for the imposition of a determinate sentence or for a review of a life sentence for an accused who was a child at the time an offence of murder was committed.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is a notice party to the proceedings.
The matter came before Ms Justice Niamh Hyland on Monday, who granted the applicant permission on an ex-parte basis to bring his challenge.
The matter and other related cases will be mentioned before the court later this month.
