This Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Murray, has vindicated the individual rights of the citizen against the most egregious wrong-doing of the State and its officers.
It is a welcome pronouncement. The strength of the judgment and the extent of the vindication measured by the massive increase in damages will go a long way towards restoring public confidence in the court and redressing the recent challenges by the Government to the independence of the judiciary.
A great wrong was done to Frank Shortt and to his family in 1995 when two members of the Garda Síochána in Co Donegal conspired to have him imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of permitting the sale of drugs. Subsequently, the State compounded that wrong by refusing to accept responsibility for the injuries inflicted by its agents. That unfortunate sequence of events ended yesterday with a Supreme Court decision to award unprecedented punitive damages.
There are important lessons to be learned from the Shortt case. The most important is that State agencies, and individuals within them, should accept responsibility when things go wrong. Providing justice and fair play for citizens whose lives have been blighted by official negligence or deliberate wrongdoing should always be the overriding consideration. Some years ago, women who were infected by contaminated blood products deserved better treatment. Mr Shortt was no different.
The Inishowen nightclub owner spent more than two years in jail on the basis of evidence fabricated by corrupt policemen. The courts found he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice. In spite of that, the State resisted all claims for compensation and engaged in a determined High Court defence. An apology on behalf of the State for Mr Shortt's conviction on trumped-up charges was only tendered on the prompting of Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman during the final day of his Supreme Court appeal. The Garda authorities have remained silent on the matter.
At the age of 59, Mr Shortt was wrongfully jailed. He lost his business. He was struck off as an accountant. He became estranged from his family and drank heavily. He was subjected to public and professional disgrace. At the same time, his wife and children suffered terribly through social exclusion in the locality. It was, indeed, a "tormenting saga" for the entire family. And the nightmare was allowed to continue for far too long. Twelve years of protesting his innocence and seeking restitution finally ended yesterday.
Chief Justice Murray, by common consent, issued his strongest judgment since taking office yesterday. He was uncompromising in his criticisms. Findings by the Morris tribunal justify his remarks. Some reforms have recently been put in place. Others will follow in May. What happened to Mr Shortt was, in the words of Mr Justice Hardiman yesterday "nothing less than an obscenity". A formal Garda apology is required.