At least sixteen inquests into deaths that happened during the Northern Ireland Troubles will not be completed by the deadline outlined in the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, according to reports by the Irish Times. The Act, which has sparked controversy among legal professionals, stipulates that all Troubles-related fact-finding investigations into causes of deaths must be finalized by May 1st, 2024.
The Lady Chief Justice’s office reportedly provided figures indicating the existence of 26 additional inquests that may not be within the mentioned deadline either. According to the Act, any inquests still ongoing after the cutoff cannot be completed and the coroner “must not progress the conduct of the inquest.” The only exceptions are for inquests where “the only part of the inquest that remains to be carried out is the coroner or any jury making or giving the final determination, verdict or findings.”
Of note, not all of these ongoing inquests pertain to the Legacy Act, as seven of these deaths took place outside of the timeline specified by the Act as The Troubles.
The Legacy Act aims to “address the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles and promote reconciliation.” To realize this, the Act established the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which is tasked with limiting criminal investigations, legal proceedings, inquests, and police complaints related to events during the Troubles. The Act expands on the prisoner release scheme as well.
The Act has met with criticism from the United Nations (UN) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The British government resisted the ECHR’s suggestions and stated that while some parts of the Act are “uncomfortable,” they strive to remain “realistic” and “do things differently” to offer more information, accountability, and acknowledgment to victims and their families. The Irish government submitted an application with the ECHR in January challenging the Act’s compliance with human rights.
The Troubles were a decades’ long violent discord between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland that centered around the region’s status within the UK. The discord ended with the Good Friday Agreement, ushering in an era of shared governance.