The UK government has lodged an appeal against a decision which found that the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act breaches several articles of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The controversial act was designed to terminate prosecutions for crimes that were committed during the 30-year period of violence in Northern Ireland known as ‘the Troubles’.
The Northern Irish High Court favoured the family members of victims, who were killed or heavily wounded during the Troubles, in their initial lawsuit. This judgment came after the UK government’s announcement stating their commitment to implementing the contested law and delivering the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The aim of the ICRIR is to give victims and survivors of the Troubles more information about the fate of their loved ones.
Justice Adrian Colton concluded in the February decision that the Act’s provisions introduce a broad amnesty for all criminal offences related to the conflict, which “clearly undermines” and hence breaches Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR. These Articles provide protection to the right to life and prohibition of torture, respectively. As a result, the court issued an incompatibility declaration under section four of the Human Rights Act.
After the original decision, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris stated in the UK Parliament that his office will carefully consider the court’s findings. However, he remains committed to implementing the Act. It’s on this backdrop that the Northern Ireland Office now appeals the original decision.
In conjunction with this case, the Irish government also lodged a new application directly with the European Court of Human Rights in January regarding the Act. In this ongoing case, the Irish government argues that the Act breaches up to five human rights protected under the ECHR.
Original article found here.