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	DPP Calls for Disclosure on Sex Cases By John Burke Sunday Business Post July 18, 2011 http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/dpp-calls-for-disclosure-on-sex-cases-57550.html The Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, has called on the government to legislate urgently to clarify the disclosure of confidential medical records in sexual abuse cases. Hamilton told The Sunday Business Post that if the government failed to clarify in what circumstances a court was entitled to examine such confidential records, it was leaving it up to the potentially unsatisfactory fate of being decided by case law in criminal trials. There is at present no legal clarity on whether a criminal court, the DPP or a defendant in a sex abuse case is entitled to confidential third-party information, such as physical examination records taken after an alleged rape which may be held by a hospital, or private counselling notes. The DPP's office is understood to be attempting to agree on a protocol for the handling of this information with the HSE. Hamilton told The Sunday Business Post that he supported the opinion of the Special Rapporteur on Children, Geoffrey Shannon, who said that Ireland "urgently requires legislation governing the issue of disclosure". In his fourth report as the special rapporteur to the Oireachtas, Shannon said that Irish courts had so far not considered the issue in great detail, but the experience elsewhere was that persons "with a history of sexual abuse convictions have sought to challenge the lack of proper disclosure of records in order to impugn the fairness of the trial". Shannon warned that such appeals "based on the lack of disclosure of such records will become more common". Legal sources said that in cases where the court was led to believe that undisclosed information might be of relevance to the character of the alleged victim, it could lead to the collapse of a trial, or to the DPP being forced to withdraw charges. Any legislative measure should balance the complainant's privacy with the accused's right to a fair trial, Shannon said. Hamilton has also said that he will meet abuse and advocacy groups such as One In Four, and any others who deal with clients who may be asked to provide such personal records. Maeve Lewis, the executive director of One In Four, told the Post that she was concerned about moves by the DPP to ask alleged victims of sexual abuse to hand over their private notes with counsellors. She said she was concerned that this information might ultimately fall into the hands of lawyers representing potential abusers. However, it is believed that a critical element of the protocol being discussed between the DPP and HSE would include a commitment from the DPP that it would make every effort to redact all non-essential private information. Hamilton's role in handling cases of alleged sexual assault cases was raised in last week's final report of the special commission to inquire into clerical abuse claims in the Cork diocese of Cloyne. The commission, chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy, noted that some victims were "disappointed" at the DPP's decision not to prosecute. Hamilton said he could not comment on the issue.
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