An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2019/Jan 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 12 | INTERVIEW WITH COL JERRY LANE (DIRECTOR OF THE DF LEGAL SERVICE BRANCH), CONDUCTED BY COMDT JAMES O'HARA (DF PRESS OFFICER) Col Jerry Lane, Director of the Defence Forces Legal Service Branch. A Naval Service boarding party in action during a maritime law exercise. Air Corps AW139, with a 7.62mm GPMG and an ARW sniper team providing ATCP protection during a VIP visit. S ince the foundation of the state, the Defence Forces has been tasked with conducting do- mestic security operations. Examples in recent years that people would be aware of include the visits of Queen Elizabeth, President Obama and President Trump. These were Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) operations. However, there are other routine Security Operations conducted under the Use of Force area, for example, routine security duties and Maritime Security and De- fence Operations (MSDO). In such situations Defence Forces personnel may be legally authorised to use physical force, if necessary, to accomplish the mission. I recently met Col Lane to discuss the use of force, its origins and principles. Comdt O'Hara: Where does the Defence Forces' authority to use force come from? Col Lane: In broad legal terms article 15 of the constitution provides that the Oireachtas shall raise and main- tain a military force; that is Óglaigh na hÉireann. We take that as our starting point. That article, and other regulations and instructions influence how we train, educate, rehearse and deploy on operations in the on-island application of the use of force. At the tactical operational level across air, sea and land, you are looking at a range of guidance documents; in particular CO/D6, and, in terms of ATCP, Defence Forces Regulation (DFR) CS1. Comdt O'Hara: Can you give examples of where these guidelines and the training generated by them are, or have been, required? Col Lane: If we look at the army, they were necessary during the wide range of ATCP operations that were mainly generated by the Troubles and involved large amounts of troops deployed on the ground. They also apply to the Naval Service in terms of ship protection and maritime law enforcement, such as boarding a vessel, where if a non-compliant situation arises that may require the use of force, our various principles and training, and in specific the Naval Service's specialised training, would cater for that. Domestic operations contrast sharply with our engagement in peace-support operations, in particular the two larger missions to which we are deployed, UNIFIL and UNDOF, which are both covered by UN rules of engagement (ROEs). We don't have domestic ROEs. Some people would refer to CO/D6 and CS1 as, perhaps, on-island ROEs; but there is a sharp legal distinction. Consequently, our personnel need to be aware of a different methodology from on-island, which is influenced and directed by national law, to the international sphere of the UN's ROEs. Comdt O'Hara: How do members of the Defence Forces become involved in ATCP operations? Col Lane: The use of the military in domestic legal operations is an area that not a lot of constitutional lawyers would have been comfort- able with; however, ATCP is exactly that. It is a request, by a particular rank in An Garda Síochána, that comes in a particular, agreed man- ner, for the deployment of armed personnel to assist in a particular situation. ATCP invokes the provisions of DFR CS1, the current version of which was published in 1967; and it has served us well. Comdt O'Hara: What are the key use-of-force principles that DF personnel must follow when deployed on ATCP operations? Col Lane: As stated in DFR CS1, para 5: justification, prevention, minimum force, and legal requirements.

• Cover