Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
110. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will include the murder of a person (details supplied) in the current case being taken against the British government in the European Court of Human Rights. [17994/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 17 January 2024 the Government filed an inter-State case against the United Kingdom with the European Court of Human Rights. In its application, the Government argues that certain provisions of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are incompatible with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Convention, including Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 6(1) (the right of access to a court), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination).
The Government considers that the relevant provisions of the Legacy Act give rise to violations of the Convention that are sufficiently clear and precise to permit a challenge to the Convention compliance of the impugned provisions in abstracto. As such, the Government’s application is distinguishable from those inter-state cases in which the applicant state complains of violations of the rights of one or more clearly identified or identifiable individuals by another contracting party to the Convention.
Inter-state cases brought on behalf of individuals are subject to different procedural rules, including the requirement to exhaust domestic remedies. This requirement does not apply to the Government’s application.
However the application does make clear the Government's strong concern that victims and family members who have spent decades fighting for an effective investigation into their case will have all existing avenues to truth and justice shut down, and will be left with no option but to engage with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery without sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure that the “reviews” carried out by the Commission will be capable of ensuring an effective investigation of violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention.
The Government’s application also highlights the strong opposition to the Legacy Act within Northern Ireland, including by almost all groups representing victims, survivors, and their families since it was first introduced.
