NCJ Number
96819
Journal
Crime and Social Justice Issue: 21-22 Dated: (1984) Pages: 81-94
Date Published
1984
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The crude and often brutal nature of 'popular' justice conducted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the areas under its control in Northern Ireland must be set in the context of state repression and the national legal system's general lack of legitimacy.
Abstract
The nationalist communities in Northern Ireland have seen internment without trial, trial without juries, and justifiable homicide in the streets, all conducted by the official authorities. As a result, the state has been deprived of legitimacy in the eyes of the nationalist community. As the struggle for civil rights gave way to guerrilla war in 1970, the IRA began to apply the traditional punishments for those who leaked information or were otherwise regarded as traitors. Kneecapping, which was usually a flesh wound from a low-velocity bullet, and tarring and feathering women were used. The IRA also became involved in the handling of crime in general. In 1975, by agreement with the British Government, the IRA set up centers which gradually came to assume a general policing role in the nationalist areas of Belfast. In the early 1980's, under popular pressure and through the growing influence of socialist ideology, the IRA moved toward more humane ways than physical punishment for dealing with petty criminals. Now, also under popular pressure, it is moving back towards a harsher approach, because the previous approach was unsuccessful in reducing crime. Dual power is now exercised, with both the state and the IRA playing roles in attempting to control crime. Notes and a list of 32 references are provided.