LAST UPDATE | 10 Apr 2019
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL of Ireland has postponed his trip to be inducted into a prestigious body of trial lawyers at an event due to be held in the Sultan of Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel in London.
Seamus Woulfe was on the attendee list for the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) 2019 annual meeting, which is being held this week from today until Sunday (10-14 April).
The meeting is being held in the luxury Dorchester Hotel. The hotel has been the scene of numerous protests in recent days due to Brunei’s adoption of harsh new sharia laws, including the death penalty for gay sex.
The move by the southeast Asian country has sparked huge international condemnation and protest. There have been numerous calls to boycott the Dorchester – which is owned by Brunei.
The tiny nation is completely ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Many businesses, charities and other organisations have been cutting ties with the Dorchester and other Brunei-owned businesses over the new laws.
Woulfe is on the attendee list for the meeting was due to be inducted into the IATL on Saturday.
In a statement, a Government spokesperson said:
“In January 2018 the Attorney General had the great honour to be nominated for fellowship of a body known as The International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
“The Academy is a prestigious body of trial lawyers, with the majority of fellows from the United States, but with a limited number of fellows from over 30 countries throughout the world.
“A small number of Irish barristers have been inducted as fellows of the Academy.
The Attorney General was scheduled to be formally inducted as a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in London on 13 April 2019.
The spokesperson said that the AG’s trip had been postponed:
The Attorney General’s trip has been postponed and his formal induction will occur at a time and place yet to be determined.
Dáil
The matter was raised with Tánaiste Simon Coveney in the Dáil earlier today by Sinn Féin TDs Sean Crowe and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, who said they had learned that Woulfe was due to attend the meeting in the Dorchester.
“Can you confirm this Tánaiste and will the government ensure that the Attorney General will refuse to cross the picket and break this boycott?” Crowe said.
Coveney said that he needed to speak to Woulfe in relation to the matter, but that it was his understanding that “he’s been invited to an event in a private capacity”.
“But I do need to establish the full details before I can give a definitive answer,” he said.
Coveney said that he joined the TDs in “utterly rejecting and criticising” the decisions made by the Sultan of Brunei.
“It is barbaric to be propose that anybody be stoned never mind people being stoned on the basis of their sexual preference or identity,” he said.
Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield also said that he had written to the Taoiseach calling on him to request that the Attorney General not attend the event.
“There is also an ongoing boycott of the Dorchester Hotel and page 144 of the Programme for Government commits to protecting and promoting human rights,” Warfield said.
The tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island came fully into force last Wednesday after several years of delay.
With reporting from AFP
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