Pat Finucane

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has requested the information by 22 October 2020. If this deadline is missed, the Committee is likely to issue an interim resolution against the UK.

It has been almost 20 years since the European Court of Human Rights ordered proper investigations into a number of Northern Ireland legacy cases, including the 1998 killing of solicitor Pat Finucane.

The Stormont House Agreement (SHA) contained mechanisms that would have dealt with such cases.

However, in March 2020, the UK government set out a counter proposal for a ‘fast-track’ scheme in a Written Ministerial Statement from the NI Secretary of State.

The Belfast-based Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) has criticised this proposal as “vague” and “an apparent U-turn on its support for this agreement”.

Daniel Holder, CAJ deputy director, said: “We welcome the international community setting a deadline of 22 October for the Northern Ireland Office to come clean on the exact contents of the legacy legislation it is preparing.

“We share the Committee of Ministers’ concerns about the vagueness of the Secretary of State’s Westminster Statement in March. The NIO proposals must be instead made in a way that is lawful.

“The Committee of Ministers have been very patient despite the UK dragging its feet for many years. This final deadline will provide a renewed focus for the UK with regards to when it should comply with its international human rights obligations.

“We also share the Committee’s ‘deep concerns’ at the failure of the UK to provide any concrete information on how they will now conduct a proper human rights compliant investigation into the death of solicitor Pat Finucane on the back of the UK Supreme Court ruling over 18 months ago.”

Solicitor Peter Madden, who acts for the Finucane family, said: “It is a highly unusual step for the Committee of Ministers to directly rebuke the British government for failing to take action in light of the Supreme Court judgment eighteen months ago.

“Successive secretaries of state have prevaricated and delayed their decision on whether to hold a public inquiry into Pat’s murder, which is the only manner in which the government can lawfully discharge its obligations under the Convention.

“Geraldine Finucane is now challenging that delay at a hearing in the High Court on 9 October.”