Kate McCann admits in her book that private criminal investigations in Portugal were illegal.

[Alfred R Jones]

According to Angelo there is no excuse for hiring PIs to look for your child - no matter that you feel the police are only interested in getting YOU prosecuted and are not actively looking for either your child or the actual perpetrator.  So, there we have it - abiding by Portuguese Law is more important to Angelo than the welfare of his own offspring.  Shocking!

[Angelo222]

Simple question: did Kate McCann admit to breaking Portuguese Law in her book?

Simple answer: No she didn't.

End of.

You are completely wrong and your failure to see that  undermines your credibility.

Lets put it another way.  Why did Kate McCann admit in her book that they employed a Spanish PI instead of a Portuguese one?  Have you worked it out yet?

[Alfred R Jones]

You are completely wrong and your failure to see that  undermines your credibility.

Lets put it another way.  Why did Kate McCann admit in her book that they employed a Spanish PI instead of a Portuguese one?  Have you worked it out yet?

Because she didn't want to break Portuguese Law? 

Do I win a prize?

[Angelo222]

According to Angelo there is no excuse for hiring PIs to look for your child - no matter that you feel the police are only interested in getting YOU prosecuted and are not actively looking for either your child or the actual perpetrator.  So, there we have it - abiding by Portuguese Law is more important to Angelo than the welfare of his own offspring.  Shocking!

If the police came to one conclusion and one  conclusion only (according to you) then they must have deemed the parents to be hiding something.  Failure to cooperate fully with the police and refusing to answer some very basic questions was the most stupid thing Kate McCann ever did as far as the police investigation was concerned. Appears her lawyer had concerns too at that stage.

[Angelo222]

Because she didn't want to break Portuguese Law? 

Do I win a prize?

No you fail because their agents broke the law regardless. They operated in Portugal and the McCanns knew they were operating there thus they are as guilty as their agents.  The McCanns knew what they were doing was, to use Kate's words, 'technically illegal'.  I can see why she raised this point in her book since it was an attempt to head off criticism.  Bottom line is the McCanns like to use the Law when it suits them but can't accept that they too have engaged in illegal activities.

[Mr Gray]

No you fail because their agents broke the law regardless. They operated in Portugal and the McCanns knew they were operating there thus they are as guilty as their agents.  The McCanns knew what they were doing was, to use Kate's words, 'technically illegal'.  I can see why she raised this point in her book since it was an attempt to head off criticism.  Bottom line is the McCanns like to use the Law when it suits them but can't accept that they too have engaged in illegal activities.

mccanns hired M3 in spain...mccanns are not responsible for what M3 did...no contract can enforce an illegal act....if M3 acted illegally the contract with the mccanns would be void and the mccanns not responsible...check out contract law

[Alice Purjorick]

Angelo.  Where the law is an ass, do you feel duty bound to follow it slavishly?

I know let's all obey the laws we wish to and not obey the ones we find inconvenient. What a jolly good idea sir.
It works well to a point; your "line" may be at speeding mine may be at murder. I am sure you can now see the ultimate flaw in your argument.

[Angelo222]

You really have missed the point haven't you Alfred.  It made no difference where the PI's came from, the point is that all interference in the criminal inquiry was illegal and they knew it.  They created a situation which they knew to be illegal which renders them guilty of a crime under Portuguese Law.

[Jean-Pierre]

You really have missed the point haven't you Alfred.  It made no difference where the PI's came from, the point is that all interference in the criminal inquiry was illegal and they knew it.  They created a situation which they knew to be illegal which renders them guilty of a crime under Portuguese Law.

How far does Portugal's jurisdiction extend?

[Angelo222]

Angelo.  Where the law is an ass, do you feel duty bound to follow it slavishly?

Portuguese Law is not an ass since there are very good reasons for not having a bunch of Metodo or Oakley cowboys running around stirring up witnesses and scaring them off.  I would just love to see what the Met would do if private investigators started interfering in the next murder to come their way.  Its time some people woke up frankly!!

[Carana]

I know let's all obey the laws we wish to and not obey the ones we find inconvenient. What a jolly good idea sir.
It works well to a point; your "line" may be at speeding mine may be at murder. I am sure you can now see the ultimate flaw in your argument.

?? Sorry, I have trouble understanding this post.

[Carana]

Portuguese Law is not an ass since there are very good reasons for not having a bunch of Metodo or Oakley cowboys running around stirring up witnesses and scaring them off.  I would just love to see what the Met would do if private investigators started interfering in the next murder to come their way.  Its time some people woke up frankly!!

Have you established in which way Metodo3 interfered in the police investigation?

[Alice Purjorick]

mccanns hired M3 in spain...mccanns are not responsible for what M3 did...no contract can enforce an illegal act....if M3 acted illegally the contract with the mccanns would be void and the mccanns not responsible...check out contract law

It would all depend on what you meant by...as professor Job would have said.
Perusing the following links,good sir, may aid you to a better understanding. By perusing I mean of course reading all of it including all the links within the links rather that merely reading far enough to find a statement you like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_agreement.
http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/index.php/contract/10071-illegality-in-contracts.
It would however be an interesting case to bring to court as it has the potential to last even longer than the McCann vs Amaral libel trial.

[Mr Gray]

Portuguese Law is not an ass since there are very good reasons for not having a bunch of Metodo or Oakley cowboys running around stirring up witnesses and scaring them off.  I would just love to see what the Met would do if private investigators started interfering in the next murder to come their way.  Its time some people woke up frankly!!

Perhaps you need to wake up....the pj were not doing any investigating...the only suspects were the parents

[Alice Purjorick]

?? Sorry, I have trouble understanding this post.

It should not be too difficult. It is based on the premise that the law is there to be followed not cherry picked at. My experience is that the cherry pickers are the first to call their mummy when it goes horribly wrong.

Jean Pierre suggested that we should not slavishly follow the law if we believe it to be an ass. That rather suggests he wishes to cherry pick the laws that should be obeyed in his opinion. That way lies anarchy my friend.
But my point is once you have made the conscious decision to observe only laws that suit your convenience where will you draw the line at your law breaking?