The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission went to the House of Lords today in a bid to win the power to appear in court as an interested third party or "friend of the court".
The case is an appeal against a decision by the Court of Appeal in Belfast last April to the effect that the Commission does not have the power to appear before the courts and present arguments on human rights principles that are of public interest.
The Commission tried to intervene in the Omagh bomb inquest to suggest the inquiry be widened to include an examination of police action in response to the bomb warning.
The coroner refused to allow the Commission to intervene and they in turn sought a judicial review of the decision before the Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell.
The Lord Chief Justice upheld the coroner's view, as did two of three judges when the decision was appealed. The Commission said today that one of the three judges, Mr Justice Brian Kerr, had agreed with their case and they were asking the House of Lords to endorse his judgement.
Prof Brice Dickson, head of the Human Rights Commission, said: "The Court of Appeal's judgment was a great disappointment to us. It meant that the Commission had less power to present arguments to courts than non-government organisations and other statutory bodies without a direct human rights mandate.
"We will be asking their Lordships to reverse the decision of the court in Northern Ireland and to accept how vital it is for a statutory human rights body to be able to give its opinion to judges".
The Commission said the Northern Ireland Office had been granted leave to intervene in the case to support the Commission's position. The Commission said the government argued its intention had always been to give the Commission the power that the coroner denied it.
PA