Hilary Benn questioned on human rights implications of Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
The Joint Committee on Human Rights will question Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn MP, as part of its legislative scrutiny of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
Meeting details
The Troubles Bill aims to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as well as to correct human rights concerns identified by the UK courts in previous legislation. In particular, the Bill would reform the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, renaming it the ‘Legacy Commission’ and strengthening its governance framework and accountability mechanisms. The Bill also seeks to increase the investigative powers of the Commission and makes changes to the scheme for disclosure of sensitive information. Victims’ voices would be given an role through the creation of a Victims and Survivors Advisory Group. Provisions would also be made to provide public funding to allow victims’ next of kin to receive legal support as part of the Commission’s new inquisitorial proceedings.
An Independent Commission on Information Retrieval would be established, separate from the Legacy Commission, to receive information about deaths within its remit and provide reports about those deaths to victims’ families. This information received by the ICIR would not be admissible in legal proceedings or used by the Legacy Commission. It is modelled on the approach of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, which has been collecting information in confidence for over twenty years in an attempt to recover the bodies of “The Disappeared” of the conflict.
Other measures in the Bill would allow some inquests that had been stopped under the Legacy Act to resume and greater protections would be created for those engaging with these inquests and other Legacy Commission proceedings.
The session will examine the human rights implications of the Bill. This will include the functions of the proposed Legacy Commission and its role in addressing legacy issues. It will also examine the impact the legislation would have on veterans and the prosecution of Troubles-related offences.