CAJ statement on inter-state case taken against the UK legacy act
December 20, 2023CAJ has welcomed the decision by the Irish Government to take an inter-state case against the UK over the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
CAJ Director, Daniel Holder, said: “This is the right decision and a necessary one. CAJ and academic colleagues first raised the remedy that could be provided by an inter-state case straight after the legacy bill was introduced in May 2022. We addressed the issue before an Oireachtas Committee in July 2022, noting that there was a real onus on the Irish government to act, both as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and also in the context of the precedent and contempt for the international rule of law that the legislation has set.
“An inter-state case is the best way to challenge the whole legacy act and the quickest way to get this legislation before an international court, that is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The litigation in Northern Ireland courts would have to go through many stages of appeal and could take years whilst the damage of the legacy act would already be underway.”
Please direct media enquiries to Robyn Scott, Communications & Equality Coalition Coordinator on robyn@caj.org.uk or 075 1994 1203.
Footnotes:
- The statement by the Irish government is here: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/82232-statement-by-the-tanaiste-micheal-martin-on-the-government-decision-to-initiate-an-inter-state-case-against-the-united-kingdom.
- The July 2022 Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement oral evidence is available here: www.oireachtas.ie/ga/debates/debate/joint_committee_on_the_implementation_of_the_good_friday_agreement/2022-07-07/3/#spk_56.
- The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is part of the Council of Europe and nothing to do with the EU.