President signs Bills
Posted by Eoin in Blasphemy, Defamation, tags: Defamation Bill 2006
From the Irish Times breaking news site:
President McAleese signs controversial Bills into law
President Mary McAleese has this morning signed the Defamation Bill 2006 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 into law. …
Updates: from RTÉ news: President signs controversial bills into law; and from the Irish Times: Ahern welcomes Bills’ enactment; see also Belfast Telegraph | BreakingNews.ie | CCJHR blog | IrelandOnline | Irish Election | New Humanist | New York Times | Press Association | Slugger O’Toole | Tribune.ie. Further update: it’s now listed on the official list of Acts signed by President McAleese, as the Defamation Act, 2009 (No 31 of 2009) / An tAcht Um Chlúmhilleadh, 2009 (Uimhir 31 de 2009).
In a press release, the Minister for Justice welcomed both enactments, and he had this to say about the new Defamation Act, 2009:
Modernisation of our Defamation law is now complete on the enactment of the Bill. I believe the legislation in what is a complex area strikes the right balance in the public interest.
For Michael Nugent, the campaign to repeal the new blasphemy law begins now.
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Be honest. Is anyone really surprised?
Not surprised, no; but there was a brief period where we could hope that she would not have.
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