Northern Ireland amnesty law for ex-soldiers is in breach of human rights, court rules
The offering by Britain of conditional amnesties to ex-soldiers and militants involved in Northern Ireland’s violence is in breach of rights, a court ruled
The offering by Britain of conditional amnesties to ex-soldiers and militants involved in Northern Ireland’s decades of violence is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Belfast’s High Court ruled Wednesday.
Judge Adrian Colton said the section of a new law introduced last year to offer immunity from prosecution for those who cooperated fully with a new investigative body should be disapplied.
The contentious law sparked more than 20 legal challenges in Northern Ireland, mostly from victims’ families, who said it contravened the ECHR and a 1998 peace deal that ended the three decades of bloodshed.
“I am satisfied that immunity from prosecution provisions under Section 19 of the (Northern Ireland Troubles) Act are in breach of the lead applicant’s rights pursuant to Article 2 of the ECHR. I am also satisfied that they are in breach of Article 3 of the ECHR,” Judge Adrian Colton told the court.
“There is no evidence that the granting of immunity under the Act will in any way contribute to reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Indeed, the evidence is to the contrary,” Colton said, spending more than two hours reading the 200-page judgment.
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