About our investigations
ICRIR has the remit to investigate deaths and serious injuries related to the Troubles/Conflict in the period between 1 January 1966 and 10 April 1998 which caused serious physical or mental harm.
Our remit is set out in more detail below. If you have questions about whether your case would be covered, please contact us to arrange a meeting with our Case Support Team who can discuss the specifics of your case and provide you with further advice. A glossary sets out some commonly used terms and what they mean to assist in navigating the process. You can also find out about our approach to our work and the values and behaviours we adhere to in the ICRIR Code of Conduct.
Quick resources
- Downloadable leaflet introducing ICRIR and explaining what we do and how to contact us.
- An ICRIR investigation – your journey – a downloadable fact-sheet setting out our end-to-end investigation process.
- What to expect when you first contact us – a downloadable flowchart explaining the first steps in getting in touch with us if you have a request.
- Myth-busting commonly held misconceptions about the ICRIR
- Read our Operational Design Framework which explains in detail how we work.
What we can investigate
Time period: we can investigate incidents that occurred between 1 January 1966 and 10 April 1998. The key factor is when the event occurred, not the date of any outcome. For example, if the date of the incident was within this period but led to the death of an individual after 10 April 1998, we can investigate it.
Troubles/Conflict-related: The perpetrator, or suspected perpetrator, of any incident the Commission investigates must have been an active participant in the Troubles/Conflict.
Serious physical or mental harm: This means paraplegia, quadriplegia, severe brain injury or damage, severe psychiatric damage, total blindness, total deafness, loss of one or more limbs, severe scarring or disfigurement.
Who can apply for an investigation
A victim or survivor can request that the Commission investigates an incident involving a serious injury to them.
A close family member of the deceased can ask the Commission to investigate an incident involving a death.
‘Close family member’ means a person who was, on the day of the death of the deceased, a spouse, civil partner, co-habitee, child or step-child, brother or sister (or half or step-brother or sister) parent or step-parent. If there is no close family member, the request can be made by any family member.
Who can approach us for an investigation
If you want to request an investigation into a death of a family member or serious harm related to the Troubles/Conflict that has affected you, contact the Commission. You can do so by email, phone or letter.
- Email us at casesupport@icrir.independent-inquiry.uk (This address is monitored 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except public and bank holidays.)
- Call us on 028 9036 2093 (Our dedicated line is open 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, except public and bank holidays.)
- Write to us at Freepost ICRIR
Commissioner for Investigations Peter Sheridan explains how he hopes people will benefit from approaching the ICRIR if there is information they want to recover
Find out what to expect when you get in touch with us
You can contact the Commission by telephone, email or post. You can contact us even if you’re not sure whether you want to request an investigation. You can discuss what information you are looking for with our case support team.
This downloadable factsheet tells you more about the first steps, including the information we may ask for.
An ICRIR investigation – what to expect when you get in touch with us.
Who will carry out my investigation?
The Commission has recruited a range of experienced investigators from different backgrounds and disciplines and with a range of specialisms. Each investigation will have a dedicated team of investigation staff assigned to it.
All staff have to adhere to the Commission’s Declaration of Interests policy upon taking up a role in the Commission and in every single case before an investigator is assigned the Commission’s Conflict of Interest in Investigations policy is followed. These policies apply to all – whether they are a Commissioner right down to the most junior investigator. Past employment and previous roles are taken into account on suitability to join the Commission and meet its code of conduct and for each investigation if there has been previous involvement or connection then protections must be put in place.
Where a member of commission staff or even a Commissioner has to be recused then their powers can be delegated or assigned to another qualified member of staff. This ensures that your investigation will be conducted with impartiality and independence.
Support throughout the process
Throughout your end-to-end journey with the Commission you’ll be supported appropriately. Everyone’s journey is different and our Case Support Team will work with you to support you in accessing the support that is right for you. This could include:
- Engaging with your Case Support Worker throughout the journey.
- Referral for emotional support provided by independent individuals who will assist you to consider any impacts from the process of engagement and what measures would be useful and supportive for you. These emotional support appointments are free of charge and Case Support Workers can provide information about how to make use of the opportunity and what it involves.
- Providing information about local support services to you so that you can consider if you’d want to access those support services and know how to approach them.
The Commission recognises that every journey is unique and for all those engaging with us, this will be a deeply personal experience. We will listen to you and work with you to put in place support that is bespoke to you.
The three stages of an investigation
Stage 1: Support
This is the start of an individual’s journey with the Commission. Dedicated Case Support workers will help individuals and families better understand how the Commission may be able help them (and what it will not be able to do), the different options available to them and the information the Commission will need to move to the next stage. While this is the first stage of the journey, that support will be available throughout the entire process. The case support team will provide a single point of contact and consistent, objective support for the requesting individual and family throughout their time with the Commission. They will respond to any questions and provide people with the space, time and information to make decisions that are right for them and the information recovery outcomes they seek.
Stage 2: Information Recovery
In this next stage, a team of investigators will gather information and evidence and seek to answer the questions the requesting individual and family have raised. The team will need a range of skill sets, to comb through archives, interview witnesses and secure evidence. Investigators will work across a range of different cases at any one time to maximise progress and efficiency. Each investigation will be overseen by a Senior Investigative Officer. Investigators will be able to require access to all material from any previous fact-finding and determination processes, as well as all material held by the state, no matter how sensitive. They may also undertake new investigative work. Investigative teams will follow defined terms of reference for each investigation, which will start with a scoping exercise, based on an approach to cold case reviews that follows with internationally recognised best practice. This will inform the Commissioner for Investigation’s decision on which of three investigative routes will be most appropriate for the case. All three routes will embed the features required for an ECHR compliant investigation.
Stage 3: Findings
The Chief Commissioner is responsible for the production of reports at the conclusion of investigations. In this work, they are supported by the Findings Team. A Findings Officer from the unit will be assigned to each investigation from an early stage and will independently challenge the direction of investigative work. As the investigation nears its conclusion, the Commissioner for Investigations and team will present their evidence to the Chief Commissioner who will assess and evaluate it to determine findings. Further investigative work may be requested. Reports will be produced to record the findings that have been made and to seek to address the requesting individual’s questions.
Our investigation process
The three types of investigation
There are three types of investigation that the Commission may carry out. The Commissioner for Investigations, informed by the Information Recovery Team, will decide which type of investigation is most appropriate for each case.
Focused investigation
This type of investigation will aim to address the questions that requesting individuals have raised. The focus of investigative work will be to recover information that can help answers or addresses those questions. In these cases, the Commission will not be duplicating previous investigative work and will likely to draw on previous work in discharging its duty to look into all the circumstances of the case. It will use its full range of statutory powers to seek the answers in existing records, including accessing any sensitive material it requires. It may undertake targeted new investigative work, such as interviewing witnesses, where this will help to address the questions that requesting individuals have raised. Investigations will be carried out promptly and findings, based on the material presented, will be on the balance of probabilities.
Liability investigation
In addition to aiming to address the questions that requesting individuals have raised, this type of investigation will seek to establish all the circumstances of the death or other harmful conduct. Such an investigation would be capable of leading to a referral for prosecution as evidence would need to be obtained to a standard that would support prosecution. The Commission’s statutory powers, as well as the powers of a constable, may be utilised by the Commission. Provision of substantive updates to the requesting individual will need to be balanced against the need to preserve the integrity of the ability to prosecute. Findings can only be made and a report issued after any subsequent decisions by the prosecutor not to prosecute or after a prosecution (failed or successful). Where it becomes apparent that the prospect of prosecution cannot be supported by the evidence a case is likely to transfer into an investigation that concludes on the balance of probabilities.
Culpability investigation
In addition to aiming to address the questions that requesting individuals have raised, this type of investigation will seek to establish all the circumstances of the death or other harmful conduct. The Commission will use its full range of statutory powers to seek the answers in existing records, including accessing any sensitive material it requires. There may be a need for significant new investigative work, or reinvestigation where the Commission considers duplication necessary. Investigations will be carried out in a timely manner, proportionate to the scale and complexity of the event. Material will be presented to the Chief Commissioner for findings, including determining the acts of individuals and organisations to be made on the balance of probabilities.
ICRIR’s powers and investigative approaches
The Commission can use a range of approaches and powers in its investigations. It will usually start with making a request for co-operation and engagement. It can also apply legal powers to require information and engagement, from public authorities and from private individuals and organisations.
Different ways the Commission can require information
- through general requests to individuals and organisations
- powers to require people to attend for questioning
- powers to require people to provide evidence
- powers to require state authorities to provide information the Commission requires
- powers to require co-operation of PSNI and some other bodies
- powers to impose fines on those who refuse to attend for questioning or who refuse to provide evidence.
In addition, the Commissioner for Investigations can designate an ICRIR officer with the powers and privileges of a constable. This power cannot be delegated and can only be used where there is an identified requirement. You can find out more about the policy and process of designation in the Documents section of our website.
Our operational procedures and how they may affect you
We have developed a number of policies and procedures which set out how we will carry out our investigations. We will publish these wherever possible to help you understand how we work and what to expect from us.
- Our policy on off-site meetings
- Our safeguarding policy
- Our policy on unreasonable and vexatious behaviour
How we handle data
How we use the data you provide to us in meetings, calls and written communications is set out in our privacy notice. Our Case Support Workers will be able to explain to you what will happen to information that you provide in your interactions with us and answer any questions you may have. We will not hold your data for longer than necessary unless we are under a legal obligation to keep it.