A new law in Northern Ireland, called the Legacy Act, has caused 35 Troubles-era inquests to shut down from 1 May. This has been seen by some as a major setback to reconciliation in the country. One victim’s son, Sean Slane, says his family “need closure” and had hoped the inquest would have helped them. But under the act, inquests that have not yet reached the final stages were stopped from May 1st. From that date, a new legacy body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), takes over.
The ICRIR is headed by former Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan and has the power to run replacement inquests. Its main task will be to provide details to bereaved relatives and survivors as well as investigating any Troubles-related incidents in the UK where innocent people were killed or seriously injured. The Lady Chief Justice’s Office provided a breakdown of inquests which have been affected. It said there were 35 in total, comprised of 14 which had begun but not reached a findings stage, and 21 others which had not been assigned a coroner to begin.
Gerard Slane, 27, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at home in west Belfast in 1988 when his son Sean was a young boy.This case involved an army agent within the UDA, Brian Nelson, and a new inquest was ordered in 2011. It was hit by numerous delays, including over the release of security force reports. “They put us through turmoil year in, year out,” said Sean Slane. He had hoped the inquest would have revealed more details about the circumstances behind the murder and ultimately a state apology.
One option for victims’ families is to go to the ICRIR. It will take on cases referred to it or brought by bereaved families and survivors, and has police powers to investigate and bring prosecutions, where possible. However, rather than go to the ICRIR, Sean Slane said he would campaign for an inquest, especially as the Labour Party has pledged to repeal the act if it wins the next general election. The ICRIR commissioner for investigations, Peter Sheridan, has said that he hopes the new body will be supported over time.
The act has faced criticism from Northern Ireland political parties and victims’ groups. The Irish government is also bringing an inter-state case against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights. Amnesty International has said that the act’s May 1st “guillotine” has “acted as an incentive for the state to frustrate legal proceedings and continue to grossly fail victims,” and accused the UK government of heaping “suffering on victims by this appalling act.
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