Troubles

The Northern Ireland Office failed to comply with equality law obligations in relation to the UK government's controversial legacy bill, an investigation by the Equality Commission has found. An equality impact assessment of the policies in the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Conciliation) Bil

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an application challenging a 2021 decision of the justice minister to refuse to make a payment to an applicant out of an ex gratia compensation scheme. The court found that the refusal was rational and reasonable.

Lawyers have urged the Irish government to take the UK to the European Court of Human Rights over controversial plans to end criminal investigations and prosecutions linked to killings during the Troubles. In an open letter published yesterday, Belfast-based KRW LAW, which represents a significant n

The former British soldier who shot and killed an unarmed 23-year-old man on his way to a Gaelic football match has received a fully suspended three-year sentence following his conviction of manslaughter. Former Grenadier Guardsman David Holden, who shot Aidan McAnespie in the back in 1988, is the f

An independent statutory inquiry will be established into the preventability of the Omagh bombing in August 1998, the UK government has announced. The decision follows a ruling by Northern Ireland's High Court in October 2021, which found there was a "plausible case ... that the authorities knew the

The former British soldier convicted of manslaughter in relation to the 1988 shooting of Aidan McAnespie will be sentenced tomorrow afternoon. Former Grenadier Guardsman David Holden denied the charge but was found guilty last November after the judge found he gave a “deliberately false accoun

The PSNI is deliberately delaying a decision on whether to investigate the alleged torture of the so-called "Hooded Men" until the UK government's controversial Troubles bill becomes law, a lawyer representing two of the men has suggested. The UK Supreme Court ruled in December 2021 that a PSNI deci

Proposed UK government amendments to its controversial Troubles bill do not address concerns raised by victims and human rights campaigners and some of them "would actually make the bill worse", according to a new analysis. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and academic colleagues

The UK government has been urged to rethink its controversial Northern Ireland legacy proposals by the UN's top human rights official. Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill as currently drafted "appears to be

Trinity College Dublin will next week host a roundtable discussion on censorship and freedom of the press, drawing on the experience of the Northern Irish Troubles. Organised by the Schuler Democracy Forum, in partnership with Boston College and the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Resear

The UK government should consider withdrawing controversial legislation aimed at addressing the legacy of the Troubles, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner has said. In a report on the UK published today, human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatović said the UK government should reconsid

A former British soldier has been convicted of manslaughter over the killing of Aidan McAnespie in County Tyrone in 1988. The unarmed 23-year-old was shot in the back as he walked through a military checkpoint near Aughnacloy on his way to a Gaelic football match.

Scotland's justice secretary, Keith Brown, is to be quizzed this week on why he wants the Scottish Parliament to refuse consent to a bill about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill would create an Independent Commission for Reconciliation a

The Irish government should commit to bringing the UK government to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) if it presses on with controversial legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles, Amnesty International has said. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) propose

Controversial UK government plans to end criminal prosecutions for killings linked to the Troubles are "unlikely" to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, a Westminster committee has said. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) proposes to create a new independ