Commission can be catalyst on legacy, incoming ICRIR Chief Commissioner says ahead of meetings across Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has made progress coming to terms with its past, but the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) can be a catalyst for legacy issues, its Chief Commissioner-designate writes today.

Sir Declan Morgan identified listening to a wide range of groups and communities as his first priority and will be holding initial meetings with a range of communities and groups across Northern Ireland between 5 and 9 June.

Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, he says: “It was right that we recently marked the 25^th anniversary of the peace brought about by the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. As a society, we have made much progress. But there is also much we still have to do, especially in relation to the past.”

“I hope that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) can be a catalyst for progress in dealing with this, and as its first Chief Commissioner, I will want to begin a dialogue about the part the Commission can play.”

Sir Declan is leading the work to identify the other Commissioners, including the Commissioner for Investigations, for which an independent and expert selection panel has now been set up. Other key roles for the Commission, such as the General Counsel, will also be advertised shortly.

Sir Declan was identified as the Chief Commissioner-designate by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 11 May 2023. Further news on expected roles will be announced by ICRIR during the year.

Sir Declan Morgan’s opinion piece

“It was right that we recently marked the 25^th anniversary of the peace brought about by the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. As a society, we have made much progress. But there is also much we still have to do, especially in relation to the past. 

I hope that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) can be a catalyst for progress in dealing with this, and as its first Chief Commissioner, I will want to begin a dialogue about the part the Commission can play. 

I have three principles which I want to steer my role and the Commission.

The first is compatibility with the Agreement itself, without which we would not have had peace. The ICRIR will act in accordance with the Agreement’s principles, including parity of esteem of all communities. 

The second is compatibility with human rights and Article Two of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to life itself, which was infringed upon during the conflict.

While there will be many perspectives on the UK Government’s Legacy Bill, I consider that the significant flexibility the legislation creates will allow us to try a new approach. That approach must be ECHR-compliant and as a public body, the Commission must ensure its design meets those requirements.

And the third is that, from 1998 until today, we have not fully dealt with the past. Attempts have been made towards reconciliation but as I told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in 2022, the current system is defective and unfair. That must now change.

My first priority is to listen to and engage with a wide range of people and groups across Northern Ireland to ensure that we can build the organisation in a way that can take victims’ needs into account, listens to their experiences, and promotes reconciliation. 

That is why this week, my first in the role, I will be meeting groups from across our society and I am hopeful that we will be able to start a positive and enduring dialogue. Their testimony and advocacy remains as important now as it ever has been, and it is incumbent on me to listen.

This week will only be the start though, and I recognise that it will not be easy and not everyone will want to engage. Should this be the case, my door remains open. It is important for the people affected to shape the Commission and I want to reflect its approach from the conversations I will have.

I know from my previous work in Northern Ireland, including on legacy, that it takes time to set up institutions, and I have accepted this role now to give us time to set up the commission. Wasted time is something we can ill afford. 

In the end, we will be judged on our results. That means two things: dealing, systematically, with the backlog of legacy cases, where families and victims seek an ICRIR review; and setting a direction on reconciliation. 

The former is more in our hands. The latter must be the ongoing work of the community as a whole and I hope the ICRIR can use its expertise, platform and resources to support those seeking to promote lasting reconciliation. 

I know that the challenge which I face in this role is complex. But to not confront it would be a mistake.”

Sir Declan Morgan is the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and the Chief Commissioner-designate of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

Background

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill will establish a new body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The ICRIR will be led by a Board comprising a number of Commissioners who will have collective responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the ICRIR to enable it to deliver its functions. These are: 

• to carry out reviews of deaths that were caused by conduct forming part of the Troubles; 
• to carry out reviews of other harmful conduct forming part of the Troubles;
• to produce reports on the findings of each of the reviews of deaths and other harmful conduct;
• to determine whether to grant persons immunity from prosecution for serious or connected Troubles-related offences other than Troubles-related sexual offences;
• to refer deaths that were caused by conduct forming part of the Troubles, and other harmful conduct forming part of the Troubles, to prosecutors; and 
• to produce a record of deaths that were caused by conduct forming part of the Troubles.

At this stage, the ICRIR is not yet receiving submissions, evidence or requests from the public. A formal announcement will be made to open this process in due course.

As set out in May, before the Bill becomes law, a dedicated secretariat is providing independent support to Sir Declan in his work. It has been established as a separate unit of the Northern Ireland Office with a separate budget and staffing, and will not report to Northern Ireland Office ministers.