Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 March 2023
145. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will take the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights if it proceeds with the North of Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill. [13999/23]
View answerThe Government’s approach to legacy and reconciliation in Northern Ireland has always been that it should be victim-centred, with the starting point the approach agreed by both Governments and the Executive parties in the Stormont House Agreement, further endorsed in the Fresh Start and New Decade, New Approach Agreements.
The UK's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is not fit for purpose as drafted. It is also a unilateral move from the approach agreed in Stormont House. If implemented, I do not believe that it would be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and would damage reconciliation efforts in Northern Ireland. The Bill that is not supported by political parties, civil society, or victims and their representatives in Northern Ireland. It is also contrary to the United Kingdom’s international human rights obligations. I have made these points to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and encouraged him to pause passage of the Bill.
I have ensured that these concerns have also been articulated in relevant multilateral fora, including at the Universal Periodic Review of the UK by the UN Human Rights Council, and most recently at the Council of Europe, which has, on four occasions, in June, September and December 2022, and again this month, expressed its serious concerns about the Bill and its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights.
I am aware of calls for consideration of the initiation of an inter-state case against the United Kingdom before the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the UK Legacy Bill. Any future examination by the European Court of Human Rights as to whether this Bill, if enacted, would be compatible with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights will depend on the precise terms of the legislation as enacted and the factual circumstances pertaining at the time.
In this light, a decision as to the referral of an inter-state case to the Court by Ireland concerning the Bill, which remains subject to amendment, is, in the Government’s assessment, premature. The Government however continues to keep this matter under review. I have also made the Secretary of State aware of this growing pressure for an interstate case.
