A miscarriage of justice is based on a wrongful conviction by a court of law. The following are amongst the primary factors that lead to wrongful convictions in the cases of miscarriages of justice:

• eyewitness misidentification;
• negligence;
• overstated or faulty scientific evidence
• false confessions; and
• the use of prison informants;
• police or prosecutorial misconduct

A miscarriage of justice can be redressed in Irish law according to Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1993. According to the Act if a “new or newly discovered fact” relating to the crime for which the individual is convicted is presented to the Court, the conviction may be reviewed or quashed.