The Oireachtas
A. The Oireachtas is there to make laws for Ireland, but they must not enact laws that are repugnant to the constitution. The Oireachtas elects the government and the funding for the departments must be approved by the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas makes sure the government takes responsibilities for their actions. Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and the President make up the Oireachtas.
Dáil Éireann meets to debate proposed laws called a Bill. This is where the Bill is passed to the next stage or not. Members or the Dáil can ask the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or a particular Minister questions. Questions that are not asked in the Dáil are given a written answer by the appropriate minister. Progress of legislation can also be questioned and discussed by TD’s. Time during the Dáil meeting is allocated for members to raise issues, often specific constituency issues. The Dáil may also have Private Member times where Opposition Members might propose a motion or introduce Bills.
Seanad Éireann begins with Commencement matters when a Senator would have raised a specific issue with the relevant Minister. Once Senators agree on the Business for the day, debates are then called for on the issue they feel should be discussed in the Seanad. Proposed legislation is also debated by the Seanad. Senators can table motions, make statements and invite ministers to debate issues.
Oireachtas Committees are delegated work by the Oireachtas for special topics, such as health or social protection. Committee members are from the Dáil and Seanad. The public can be invited to make submissions on proposed Bills, produce reports on policy, hear pre-budget submissions from citizen organisations and debate Bills by the Committees.
The President is head of state and attends official functions as well as signs Bills into law. The President has the right to decline signing Bills into law but this only happens in rare circumstances for example if the President and the Council of State deems a Bill to be unconstitutional. (Oireachtas)
Due to the recent events happening in the world because of Covid-19 an emergency Bill has been signed into law by the President and sponsored by the minister of health. This is called “Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020. This Bill is in relation to public interest due to this life threatening virus. This Bill allows for exceptional provisions to be put in place to protect public health and minimise the spread of the Covid-19 virus so that there are a minimum amount of illnesses and deaths as possible. This Bill has closed many businesses for the duration of this time and the government are encouraging people to stay in and keep a distance of 6 feet and only leave the house for necessary reasons.
B. “Cybercrime is a borderless problem, consisting of criminal acts that are committed online by using electronic communication networks and information systems.” This statement is true because the network ranges worldwide, some cyber criminals use VPN’s. VPN’s makes it look like you are in another country and changes your IP address making it harder for the cybercriminal to be tracked down.
In Ireland guilt of the criminal must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, because if the cybercriminal has committed a serious offence they will go on trial in front of a jury and if it is a minor offence the trial will be done by judge only. In both cases the evidence must be there to prosecute the cybercriminal. It can be difficult to define crime in a formal sense but people generally understand what crime is and in a court sense prosecution must prove Actus Reus and Mens Rea. The supreme court decided that a criminal charge can be identified by three elements, the nature of the offence is against the public at large, the nature of the sanction and the requirement of actus reus and mens rea.
When a cybercrime has been committed enforcement is not left to the victim but to the state, the DPP conducts prosecutions on behalf of the state. When prosecuting a criminal they are found guilty if they prove to be capable and blameworthy in both thought and action for the crime. This is where mens rea and actus reus come into play. Mens rea is when the event is committed knowingly and intending to evade restrictions. Actus reus is the act that comprise the physical element of crime.
An example of a case regarding the DPP is DPP v Lennon in 2006. When a 16 year old was employed for three moths by domestic and general. The 16 year old used a mail bombing program avalanche, where mails appear to come from HR. The 16 year old admitted to modifying the D&G server and sending the emails with the intention of causing a mess. The argument to defend the actions was that an email server authorises to modify the email which implies consent was not without limits. D&G gives consent of sending emails to the server but would not agree to the overwhelming of the server with large number of emails. Since this law has changed to criminalises the act of DoS with up to 10 years imprisonment.
In regards to spam emails it is an offence to send unsolicited communication for the purpose of direct marketing unless the subscriber of the email has notified that he/she opts in. Regulation also prohibits the sending of direct marketing if the identity of the sender is cancelled. The data protection commissioner carries out these prosecutions and a person who suffers lose may be entitled to damages from the offender.
Technology impacts criminal law and procedure, law has struggled to keep pace with development of technology. With cybercrime being a borderless crime businesses consider it to be a more costly crime and to find the criminal is difficult, investigations to find proof is hard because cybercriminals are smart and know how to cover their tracks and a lot of victims don’t report the crime.
When any crime is committed and being investigated the Garda National Cyber Crime Unit can seize computer media for the course of the investigation. They carry out a forensic exam on the seized computer media to find any evidential evidence present on the device.
The national cybercrime bureau is tasked with the forensic examination of computer media that has been seized in relation to a crime and is kept for the duration of the criminal investigation. (Síochána)
The case R v Gold in 1988 where Schifreen and Gold gained unauthorised access to British telecoms viewdata service using home computers and modems in 1984. They explored the system gaining access to personal messages of Prince Philip and primary UK military computers went down so the Prestel network could control the launch of nuclear missiles. The pair were convicted and fined.
A recent event where an Irishman named Gary Davis pleaded guilty in New York to a narcotics connected to silk road where he was working as an administrator. He argued that he has Asperger syndrome, anxiety and depression and incarceration could hurt his mental health and endanger his life. The supreme court rejected his argument and he is facing a 10 year prison sentence. This took place in 2018.
Bibliography
- Oireachtas, H. o. t., n.d. Oireachtas.ie. [Online] Available at: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/visit-and-learn/how-parliament-works/role-of-the-oireachtas/
- Síochána, A. G., n.d. garda.ie. [Online] Available at: https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/specialist-units/garda-national-cyber-crime-bureau-gnccb-/
- Ann Lynch, Ethical and Legal Issues in IT notes
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