Director of Public Prosecutions v H.M. and B.O.

This case represented the first trial and conviction for female genital mutilation in Ireland. The accused were originally from a French-speaking African country, and were charged and convicted with female genital mutilation and neglect of their daughter in relation to the same incident. At the time of the offence, the girl was under two years old, and her injuries were discovered when her parents brought her to the Accident and Emergency Department of an Irish hospital due to uncontrollable bleeding. Following their conviction, the victim’s parents were sentenced to an unspecified number of years imprisonment for the female genital mutilation and neglect, the sentences running concurrently. They appealed their convictions, claiming that they had not received a fair trial because (i) they did not have the opportunity to present ‘appropriate’ expert evidence and (ii) the translation of H.M.’s testimony before the jury was inaccurate. The Court of Appeal quashed the appellants’ convictions on the second ground, finding that their trial was unsafe and unsatisfactory for not having complied with either the spirit or the substance of the European Union’s Interpretation and Translation Directive, which provides for the rights to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings. Thus, according to the court, the appellants were unable to properly exercise their right of defence. Following the judgment, the DPP requested a retrial, which was not opposed by the appellants.