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Moreover, under section 9 of the Act both Houses of Parliament must be
kept fully informed, at regular intervals, of the manner in which the
powers of detention have been exercised.

12. The powers of detention referred to in the Act are vested in
Ministers of State. Section 4 of the Act provides as follows:

"(1) Whenever a Minister of State is of opinion that any particular
person is engaged in activities which, in his opinion, are prejudicial
to the preservation of public peace and order or to the security of
the State, such Minister may by warrant under his hand and sealed with
his official seal order the arrest and detention of such person under
this section.

(2) Any member of the Gárda Síochána may arrest without warrant any
person in respect of whom a warrant has been issued by a Minister of
State under the foregoing sub-section of this section.

(3) Every person arrested under the next preceding sub-section of this
section shall be detained in a prison or other place prescribed in
that behalf by regulations made under this Part of this Act until this
Part of this Act ceases to be in force or until he is released under
the subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act, whichever first
happens.

(4) Whenever a person is detained under this section, there shall be
furnished to such person, as soon as may be after he arrives at a
prison or other place of detention prescribed in that behalf by
regulations made under this Part of this Act, a copy of the warrant
issued under this section in relation to such person and of the
provisions of section 8 of this Act".

13. Under section 8 of the Offences against the State (Amendment)
Act, 1940, the Government is required to set up, as soon as
conveniently may be after the entry into force of the powers of
detention without trial, a Commission (hereinafter referred to as
"Detention Commission") to which any person arrested or detained under
the Act may apply, through the Government, to have his case
considered. The Commission is to consist of three persons, appointed
by the Government, one to be a commissioned officer of the Defence
Forces with not less than seven years' service and each of the others
to be a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years' standing
or a judge or former judge of one of the ordinary courts. Lastly,
section 8 of the Act provides that, if the Commission reports that no
reasonable grounds exist for the continued detention of the person
concerned, such person shall, with all convenient speed, be released.

IV

14. After several years during which there was very little IRA
activity, there was a renewed outbreak in 1954 and again in the second
half of 1956.

In the second half of December 1956 armed attacks were made on a
number of Northern Ireland police barracks and at the end of the month
a policeman was killed. In the same month a police patrol on border
roads was fired on, trees were felled across roads and telephone wires
cut, etc. In January 1957 there were more incidents of the same kind.
At the beginning of the month there was an armed attack on
Brookeborough Police Barracks during which two of the assailants were
killed; both of them came from the 26-county area. Twelve others, of
whom four were wounded, fled across the border and were arrested by
the police of the Republic of Ireland. Thereupon, the Prime Minister
of the Republic of Ireland, in a public broadcast address on
6th January 1957, made a pressing appeal to the public to put an end
to these attacks.

Six days after this broadcast, namely, on 12th January 1957, the IRA
carried out an armed raid on an explosives store in the territory of
the Republic of Ireland, situated at Moortown, County Dublin, for the
purpose of stealing explosives. On 6th May 1957, armed groups entered
an explosives store at Swan Laois, held up the watchman and stole a
quantity of explosives.

On 18th April 1957, the main railway line from Dublin to Belfast was
closed by an explosion which caused extensive damage to the railway
bridge at Ayallogue in County Armagh, about 5 miles on the northern
side of the border.

During the night of 25th-26th April, three explosions between Lurgan
and Portadown, in Northern Ireland, also damaged the same railway line.

On the night of 3rd/4th July a Northern Ireland police patrol on duty
a short distance from the border was ambushed. One policeman was shot
dead and another injured. At the scene of the ambush 87 sticks of
gelignite were found to have been placed on the road and covered with
stones, with wires leading to a detonator.

This incident occurred only eight days before the annual Orange
Processions which are widespread throughout Northern Ireland on
12th July. In the past, this date has been particularly critical for
the maintenance of peace and public order.

V

15. The special powers of arrest and detention conferred upon the
Ministers of State by the 1940 (Amendment) Act were brought into force on
8th July 1957 by a Proclamation of the Irish Government published in the
Official Gazette on 5th July 1957.

On 16th July 1957, the Government set up the Detention Commission
provided for in section 8 of that Act and appointed as members of that
Commission an officer of Defence Forces, a judge and a district
Justice.

16. The Proclamation by which the Irish Government brought into force
on 8th July 1957 the special powers of detention provided for in
Part II of the 1940 Act (No. 2) read as follows:

"The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by
sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Offences against the State
(Amendment) Act, 1940, (No. 2 of 1940), hereby declare that the powers
conferred by Part II of the said Act are necessary to secure the
preservation of public peace and order and that it is expedient that
the said part of the said Act should come into force immediately."

17. By letter of 20th July 1957 the Irish Minister for External
Affairs informed the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe that
Part II of the Offences against the State Act, 1940 (No. 2) had come into
force on 8th July 1957.

Paragraph 2 of that letter read as follows:

"... Insofar as the bringing into operation of Part II of the Act,
which confers special powers of arrest and detention, may involve any
derogation from the obligations imposed by the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, I have the honour
to request you to be good enough to regard this letter as informing
you accordingly, in compliance with Article 15 (3) (art. 15-3)
of the Convention."

The letter pointed out that the detention of persons under the Act was
considered necessary "to prevent the commission of offences against
public peace and order and to prevent the maintaining of military or
armed forces other than those authorised by the Constitution."

The Secretary-General's attention was called to section 8 of the Act
which provides for the establishment of a Commission to which any
detained person can appeal. This Commission was set up on
16th July 1957.
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