Tag: Archive

This is the slide-pack presented by our Chief Commissioner to officials at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This is part of a continuing dialogue to receive input from experts in the field.

Committing to Human Rights laws and the rights of victims and families was the key message Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery Sir Declan Morgan delivered to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Thursday.

The full briefing provided to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg is provided here.

From 1 May 2024, the ICRIR, known as ‘the Commission’, takes on the remit to investigate cases of serious harm or death related to the Troubles/Conflict. From this date, bereaved families, victims and survivors, and certain public authorities, may request that the Commission carries out an investigation. Inquests still being carried out on 1 May 2024 are brought to an end, unless the only part still to take place is the final verdict or findings. These inquests will be concluded by the coroner. As part of its investigations, the Commission may apply a mechanism to test evidence called Enhanced Inquisitorial Proceedings, referred to as EIP. This document explains what EIP are, how they work and the reason they may be used. It sets out how EIP would apply to inquests that were at an advanced stage on 1 May and a request for an investigation is made. In these cases, the Commission will work to avoid unnecessary delays to concluding what the inquest started.

This Operational Policy sets out the details of how Enhanced Inquisitorial Proceedings will operate. The Commission’s Consultation on Operational Design sets out that during the course of the later stages of the Information Recovery Stage and in consideration of the Findings Stage, there may, in certain circumstances where criteria are met, be the need for a further process whereby specific evidence is subject to further testing in order to support the Chief Commissioner in making findings. This element of the investigation is referred to as ‘Enhanced Inquisitorial Proceedings’.

The Commission’s commitment to obtaining feedback and understanding good practice for human rights means that it has now provided a briefing on its latest proposals to the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights at the United Nations Office for the Commissioner for Human Rights. This is the start of engagement by the Commission to obtain feedback for best practice in meeting important human rights standards. This document is the slide-pack used during the visit.

On 12th and 13th of February 2024, ICRIR representatives, including the Chief Commissioner Sir Declan Morgan, visited Strasbourg, France. During their visit, they engaged with a number of key stakeholders and representatives to the Council of Europe to reaffirm the Commission's commitment to compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and update them on the Commission's progress to date. This document is the slide-pack used during the visit.

This is ICRIR's engagement slidepack for December 2023.

This publication builds on earlier proposals to set out ideas about how the Commission could consider operating when carrying out its duties to provide reports, and is open to views, opinions and feedback. (Please note that documents produced before 14 December 2023 were not Commission views, but initial ideas produced by Sir Declan and secretariat as part of preparatory work.) You can comment on these proposals by writing to us using the details on our Contact page.

Slides from Sir Declan Morgan's appearance at a conference organised by the Government Legal Service, Northern Ireland.