THE HIGH Court has dismissed a claim by survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings that the handling of parts of a report compiled by the commission of investigation into the atrocities amounted to a breach of the State’s human rights obligations.
The Justice for the Forgotten group, and two victims of the explosions, which occurred on May 17th, 1974, brought proceedings against the office of the Taoiseach, Ireland and the Attorney General, arising from the commission’s handling of one of its terms of reference in its report, published in April 2007.
They claimed the commission’s failure to report on why the Garda had not followed up information about a man with alleged links to loyalist terrorists who stayed in Dublin’s Four Courts Hotel between May 15th and 17th, 1974, was an infringement of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
They claimed the failure to provide them with access to the commission’s archive was a further breach of their convention rights. The State denied their claims. The commission, whose sole member was Patrick MacEntee SC, was set up in 2005.
In yesterday’s judgment on a preliminary issue raised by the State as part of its defence, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy agreed with the defendants that complaints relating to events which occurred 29 years before the European Convention on Human Rights Act came into force in 2003 were “not justiciable”, meaning they were not matters that could be reviewed in Irish law.
The judge ruled that plaintiffs did not have a legally enforceable right of access to the commission’s archive. She said a taoiseach was bound by the prohibition on disclosure until 30 years after the dissolution of the commission.
Justice for the Forgotten secretary Margaret Urwin expressed her disappointment at the ruling. She said the group needed time to fully consider the matter before commenting further.
The case was brought by Derek Byrne, who was seriously injured by an explosion on Parnell Street on May 17th; Margaret McNicholl, whose sister Mary McKenna was killed in an explosion on Talbot Street, and the Justice for the Forgotten Ltd, which was set up to provide support and advance the issues of those who were killed or injured in the bombings.
In their proceedings, they were seeking declarations that the commission’s failure to report about the “man in the hotel”, and the failure to state in public the legal difficulties causing this, amounted to a failure to perform its functions, and were in breach of their human rights. When the commission reported to then taoiseach Bertie Ahern three years ago, it stated it could not report on this matter, and that an explanation had been given to the taoiseach.
The plaintiffs claimed that the taoiseach was not entitled to receive such an explanation without disclosing it publicly. They sought further declarations that the failure by the taoiseach to make public the difficulties made known to him by the commission was also a breach of ECHR rights.
They also sought declarations that the failure of the taoiseach to allow them access to the commission’s archive were further breaches of their ECHR rights.
Ms Justice Laffoy adjourned the matter to October for further submissions.