Chief Commissioner welcomes Supreme Court judgment

Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Les Allamby commented:

“We welcome todays Supreme Court judgment that there has not been an effective human rights inquiry into the death of Mr Finucane. The judgment concludes that the process put in place by the UK Government fell short of its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to life. The Commission calls upon the government to set out clearly how it will remedy this failure without any further delay.”

Further information:

For further information please contact Claire Martin on: 07717731873 (028) 9024 3987 or by email on claire.martin@nihrc.org.

Notes to editors

1. The European Convention on Human Rights requires an effective official investigation in respect of Article 2 the right to life. The Supreme Court judgment today notes: “Article 2 gives rise not merely to a duty not to kill people but, where there is an issue as to whether the state had broken this obligation, an obligation on the part of the state to carry out an effective official investigation into the deaths”.

2. The European Court of Human Rights (ECt.HR) has set out that such an investigation must include the following elements: (1) the investigation must be independent; (2) the investigation must be capable of leading to the identification of those responsible; (3) the investigation must be prompt; (4) there must be public scrutiny of the investigation or its results; and (5) the next-of-kin or the victim must be involved to the extent necessary to safeguard their interests. ( Jordan v. the United Kingdom, Application No. 24746/94 (04 August 2001) paras 106-9 )