Failure to investigate deaths in Northern Ireland
/McKerr group v the United Kingdom (Appl. No. 28883/95)
Briefed on: 15 September 2023, 26 February 2021, 6 September 2019 and 29 November 2016
In these cases the Court found the United Kingdom in violation of its procedural obligations under Article 2 (right to life) of the Convention.
Six of these judgments, delivered in 2001-2003, concern the deaths of the applicants’ next-of-kin in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s either during security forces operations or in circumstances giving rise to suspicion of collusion with those forces. A ‘package of measures’ was put forward to remedy these violations however implementation of these judgments has been subject to excessive delay.
Further judgments have been delivered since 2013 again finding Article 2 investigative violations due to excessive delays in inquest proceedings into deaths concerning the security forces in Northern Ireland.
In September 2023, the latest information on the execution of this group of cases and recommendations were presented by Daniel Holden, Deputy Director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ).
Documents from the September 2023 briefing:
Power point presentation by Daniel Holder, Deputy Director, CAJ
Latest Rule 9.2 submission by CAJ (August 2023)
Documents from the February 2021 briefing:
Power point presentation by Gemma McKeown, Solicitor, CAJ
Latest Rule 9.2 submission by CAJ (February 2021)
Documents from the September 2019 briefing:
Rule 9 submission by the Committee on the Administration of Justice (July 2019)
Power Point presentation by Daniel Holder, Deputy Director, CAJ
Documents from the 2016 briefing:
Rule 9 submission by Gemma McKeown of the Committee on the Administration of Justice
Decision of the Committee of Ministers, December 2016
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights