Some recipients may be interested to know that a reply has been received
from the Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP to the
ECHR (European Court of Human
Rights) e-mail reproduced below dated August 19th
2005.
The Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP is the "Leader of the Opposition" in
the United Kingdom of Great Brittan and Northern Ireland.
--- Original message --- Date:
Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:43:36 +0100 (BST)
From: William Finnerty
<newinngalway@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Problems relating
to unanswered letters ( Council of Europe Case Reference: 25077/05 )
To: "The Registrar, European Court of Human Rights, Council
of Europe, Strasbourg." <infopoint@coe.int>
CC:
"Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe \(Alvaro Gil-Robles\)"
<commissioner.humanrights@coe.int>, Commissioner.HumanRights@coe.int,
postmaster@coe.int, webmaster@coe.int, "Secretariat of the Group of States
against corruption \(GRECO\)" <webmaster.greco@coe.int>, "Gerard J Madden
\(Senior Social Worker\)" <gmadden@slt.n-i.nhs.uk>, "Ellen Weaver
\(Solicitor, Northern Ireland Londonderry Law Centre\)"
<ellen.weaver@lawcentreniwest.org>, "Dr Maurice Manning \(President of
Irish Human Rights Commission\)" <info@ihrc.ie>, "Adrian Kane \(Solicitor
at Patrick Fahy & Co.\)" <adrian.okane@pfahy.com>, "Patrick J. Fahy
\(Solicitor\)" <patrick.fahy@pfahy.com>, "Gearoid Geraghty \(Lawyer, Fair
Murtagh, Ballinasloe\)" <gearoidgeraghty@fair-murtagh.ie>, "Ciara Macklin
\(Lawyer, Fair-Murtagh\)" <ciaramacklin@fair-murtagh.ie>, "Martin Egan
\(Principal Lawyer, Fair-Murtagh Law Firm\)" <martinegan@fair-murtagh.ie>,
"Law Society \(Republic of Ireland\)" <H.Mountaine@LawSociety.ie>, "Marcin
Libicki MEP \(Chairman of European Parliament Committee on Petitions\)"
<mlibicki@europarl.eu.int>, "Josep Borrell Fontelles \(President of the
European Parliament\)" <webmasterpresident@europarl.eu.int>, "Prime
Minister Tony Blair MP \(Council of European Union President\)"
<webmaster@pmo.gov.uk>, "Jose Manuel Barroso \(President of EU
Commission\)" <sg-web-president@cec.eu.int>, "Margot Wallstrom \(Vice
President of EU Commission\)" <Margot.Wallstrom@cec.eu.int>, "Stavros
Dimas \(EU Commissioner for Environment & Social Affairs\)"
<empl-info@cec.eu.int>, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
<taoiseach@taoiseach.irlgov.ie>, Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney
<info@maryharney.ie>, "Minister for Justice \(Michael McDowell TD\)"
<Michael.McDowell@oireachtas.ie>, "Martin Cullen TD \(Minister for
Transport\)" <Martin.Cullen@oireachtas.ie>, "Dick Roche TD, Minister for
the Environment, Heritage and Local Government"
<dick.roche@oireachtas.ie>, Enda.Kenny@oireachtas.ie,
Pat.Rabbitte@oireachtas.ie, Trevor.Sargent@oireachtas.ie,
Arthur.Morgan@oireachtas.ie, brendankellywoodlawn@yahoo.ie,
ciaran_hughes@yahoo.co.uk, richardmgreene@yahoo.co.uk, lohantm@yahoo.com, "Garda
Commissioner Noel Conroy \(Chief Commissioner of Police, Republic of Ireland\)"
<comstaff@iol.ie>, Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde OBE
<information@nipolicingboard.org.uk>, Northern Ireland Human Rights
Commission <info@nihrc.org>, "Michael Howard MP \(Leader of the
Conservative Party\)" <howardm@parliament.uk>, "Charles Kennedy MP
\(Leader of the Liberal Democrats\)" <kennedyc@parliament.uk>, "Guardian
of the Constitution \(President Mary McAleese\)"
<webmaster@aras.irlgov.ie>, "Kofi Annan \(Secretary-General of the United
Nations\)" public.participation@unece.org
European Court of Human Rights
Council of Europe
F-67075 STRASBOURG CEDEX
Dear Sir /
Madam,
RE: Council of Europe Case Reference:
25077/05
With reference to your letter to me dated July 12th 2005 please
note that I am encountering delays, that are very largely beyond my control,
regarding the completion of my application for the European Court of Human
Rights which you have sent me.
Among other things, I am at present experiencing the following
difficulties:
1) I am being treated for stress-related
illness, which has been certified by my GP (Dr Michael Mc Cavert), and
which is wholly connected with the legal problems I am writing to you
about.
2) I feel I need the assistance of
a suitably experienced lawyer to help me fill in the application to
have my case brought before the European Court of Human Rights, and that despite
my very best efforts over a period of several years, I have so far failed
completely to find such help.
3) Much to my surprise, and distress, I
have not received replies to several letters I have sent since December 2004
which are directly connected with my present set of legal problems.
Included are those reproduced below at the following six Internet addresses:
Mr Gearoid Geraghty (Lawyer, Fair & Murtagh):
Ms Ellen Weaver (Solicitor, Northern Ireland Londonderry Law
Centre):
Citizens Advice Bureau (for Omagh, Northern
Ireland):
4) Largely as a consequence of the
difficulty with the unanswered letters referred to above, there are major doubts
in my mind regarding the issue of "
all domestic remedies" being
exhausted (as mentioned in connection with
Article 35 of the Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and in
Section
6 of the
"notes for guidance" you have sent me), which is one of the
reasons I feel I am very badly in need of professional legal advice from a
suitably experienced lawyer. (For full text of the Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms please see
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/Html/005.htm
.)
As it is the case that I continue to believe, very strongly,
that my legal rights under Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) and
Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms are being violated in
very major ways, and which are also proving very painful and very damaging for
me incidentally, I still wish to lodge my application with the court; and, I
fully intend to do so as soon as I can, and as best I can. Please note
though that Mr Madden, the Senior Social Worker who is helping me, is on holiday
at present and not due back at work until August 24th as far as I know.
With thoughts of the several "promotion" and "awareness"
statements in the
Council of Europe RESOLUTION (99) 50 document (relating
to the
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights), I am copying
this e-mail to
Mr Alvero Gil-Robles. Please note that for reasons
which I feel should be very obvious, in view of what I have related above, that
I am particularly interested in the
Article 3. c. statement relating to
the provision of "
advice and information on the protection of human rights
and prevention of human rights violations". (Full text at:
http://www.coe.int/T/f/commissaire_d.h/unité_de_communication/Commissaire/Mandat/Resolution(1999)50_E.asp#TopOfPage
)
Unfortunately, and as I have already tried to relate via a
number of Council of Europe e-mail addresses last Saturday (August 13th 2005), I
have been having major problems with the e-mail address you have published at
your website for Mr Gil-Robles. For more detailed information on this
matter please see copy of my e-mail of last Saturday at:
On account of the fact that I believe corruption - political,
legal, and corporate corruption (operating on a transnational basis), all very
potently mixed up with each other, all feeding off each other, and all
vigorously supporting each other - lays firmly at the core of the extremely
severe set of personal health and legal difficulties I am at present
experiencing, I would like to take this opportunity to state that I fully agree
with the statement on corruption made by the European Ministers of
Justice in 1997 at their 21st Conference in Prague,
which I have reproduced below:
"... corruption represents a
major threat to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, fairness and social
justice, that it hinders economic development and endangers the stability of
democratic institutions and the moral foundations of society".
The above piece of text was copied from the "
How was GRECO
set up?" page at the COE website
http://www.greco.coe.int/ .) Consequently, I am sending
a copy of this e-mail to the COE "
Secretariat of the Group of States against
corruption"
.
Later today, I plan to send a printed and signed copy of this
e-mail to you through the registered post.
Yours faithfully,
William Finnerty.
"St Albans"
New Inn
Ballinasloe
County
Galway
Republic of Ireland.
PRINTED COPY (by hand) to: Dr
Michael Mc Cavert GP (Omagh Health Centre, County Tyrone, Northern
Ireland).
A copy of the text of this e-mail has been placed
at:
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<<< Translation facilities are available at the
Internet address immediately above >>>
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