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At the very least 16 Troubles inquests is not going to be accomplished by the deadline set by the Legacy Act, based on figures obtained from the Woman Chief Justice’s workplace.
This determine is anticipated to extend, as a further 26 inquests are below energetic case administration by coroners however not all of those will conclude by Could 1st.
“The coroners are case managing them with a view to getting them heard however this can be knowledgeable by future assessment hearings,” a spokeswoman mentioned.
Belfast solicitor Pádraig Ó Muirigh has raised considerations {that a} vital variety of the 26 inquests are “in jeopardy” and won’t be heard in time.
“There’s very severe considerations, a minimum of among the many households I symbolize, that numerous inquests which might be being case managed and which I’m concerned in, is not going to be completed by the deadline,” Mr Ó Muirigh mentioned.
“My concern is that the British ministry of defence and state our bodies will delay the method, particularly in conditions the place disclosure is due.”
For the reason that begin of the yr, coroners have dominated that two legacy inquests can’t be accomplished earlier than the Could 1st deadline.
In January, the coroner within the inquest into the dying of Patrick Duffy, a 50-year-old father-of-six who was shot lifeless by an undercover British military unit in Derry in 1978, mentioned it couldn’t be accomplished by Could 1st as a result of the ministry of defence couldn’t present discovery of delicate materials in time.
Earlier this month the coroner within the inquest into the dying of Raymond McCord jnr dominated that it’s going to not be attainable to conclude it earlier than Could 1st, 2024.
As well as, the Woman Chief Justice’s Workplace mentioned 10 inquests included within the authentic five-year plan for such inquiries, in addition to 11 new inquest referrals from the Legal professional Basic, haven’t been allotted to a coroner.
These embody the deaths of Co Tyrone nationalist councillor Patsy Kelly and the group of males often called the New Lodge Six.
Seven of those 21 inquests should not topic to the Legacy Act for the reason that deaths didn’t happen inside the interval outlined because the Troubles. There isn’t any prospect of the opposite 14 going forward earlier than Could 1st.
Mr Ó Muirigh – who represented the households of a few of the 10 victims of the 1971 Ballymurphy bloodbath on the 2021 inquest which discovered them “fully harmless” – mentioned “households who’ve waited a long time on an inquest could find yourself in a scenario the place that inquest is part-heard”.
“And I feel that’s very merciless for that household. I can’t consider any crueler technique to conclude than the matter being part-heard and getting no findings on the finish of it. This laws has positioned coroners on this place,” Mr Ó Muirigh mentioned.
[ Ireland had ‘no option’ but to take case against UK over Northern Ireland Troubles legacy Act, says Taoiseach ]
He agrees with feedback made by former Northern secretary Peter Hain within the Home of Lords final week who claimed that “state our bodies look like brazenly working down the clock to Could 1st”.
The UK authorities has rejected Mr Hain’s claims.
However Mr Ó Muirigh mentioned he had “witnessed at first hand” the “delaying ways”.
“Peter Hain’s feedback, though they’re welcome, got here as no shock to me. I see it on a day-to-day foundation and the way by which the state strategy the inquests and the dearth of help that’s being given to them,” Mr Ó Muirigh mentioned.
Below the Legacy Act, all legacy inquests not accomplished by Could 1st should switch to the brand new investigative physique, the Unbiased Fee for Reconciliation and Data Restoration.
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