Belfast court told Troubles law allows 'killers to escape punishment' as legal challenge continues

Amnesties offered by the UK Government’s controversial new Northern Ireland Troubles legislation will unlawfully permit killers to escape punishment, the High Court heard today. A judge was told that the immunity scheme violates the State’s legal obligation to impose proper sentences for the purposes of retribution and deterrence. Victims of the conflict are mounting a major legal bid to block the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act.

The fiercely opposed legislation offers a conditional amnesty to those accused of crimes during more than 30 years of sectarian violence if they provide a truthful account to a new body set up to help bereaved relatives find out more about how their loved ones died. It will also end future civil litigation and inquests into conflict-related deaths not completed before the cut-off date of May 2024. A series of related challenges claim the Act is unconstitutional and in breach of Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On the second day of submissions, counsel for some of the victims cited case law to back arguments that immunity from prosecution is legally impermissible.

Jude Bunting KC insisted punishment and deterrence is essential for maintaining public confidence, ensuring adherence to the rule of law and to prevent any appearance of tolerance or collusion in unlawful acts. “The State should not, under any circumstances, permit life-endangering offences to go unpunished,” he said. “The immunity introduced by the Act is unequivocally incompatible with Articles 2 and 3.” In a challenge ultimately expected to reach the Supreme Court, proceedings issued by Martina Dillon, John McEvoy and Lynda McManus have been identified as lead cases. Ms Dillon’s 45-year-old husband, Seamus, was shot dead in a loyalist attack at the Glengannon Hotel in Dungannon, County Tyrone, in 1997. Mr McEvoy survived a loyalist shooting on the Thierafurth Inn in Kilcoo, County Down, in 1992 which claimed the life of 42-year-old Peter McCormack. Ms McManus's father, James, was among those wounded in the Sean Graham bookmakers massacre earlier in the same year. Five people were murdered when loyalist gunmen opened fire inside the betting shop on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast. The British Government has described the Act as an attempt to draw a line under Northern Ireland’s troubled past. It involves the establishment of an Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) headed up by former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland Sir Declan Morgan. Self-confessed perpetrators who fully cooperate with the legacy body may be offered immunity from prosecution. But Mr Bunting told the court that next of kin will be denied a proper participation role in the process. Referring to the impact on inquests, he emphasised the importance of those tribunals for families seeking truth and justice. Ms Dillon desperately wants to participate in her husband’s inquest for the purposes of catharsis and because of “the power of looking in the eye those who have failed him”, the court heard. Counsel also argued that the establishment of the Commission will prevent further inquiries into Troubles-related incidents after a five-year period. “Even if new evidence comes to light, there will not be any new investigation,” Mr Bunting said. “That is straight-forward incompatible with Article 2.” A further alleged breach of human rights involves removing the ability to discipline police officers for serious misconduct during the Troubles. “The Act will allow them to continue in their careers with their reputations intact,” the barrister contended. Mr Justice Colton was also told the legislation discriminates against victims of Troubles crimes committed before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, prohibits scrutiny through public hearings, and denies civil compensation. Mr Bunting added: “To shut people out of damages claims, as (the Government) knew at the time the Act was introduced, was likely to undermine rather than progress reconciliation.” The case continues.

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