Rights NI is delighted to welcome this guest post from Christopher Stanley of KRW LAW LLP KRW Recent research which has fed into high profile media documentary television programmes by both RTE and BBC has resurrected interest in the case of the 14 Hooded Men. It will be recalled that The Hooded Men were those…Continue reading Where now for the hooded men? Ireland v UK revisted
Category: Civil Liberties
‘Shopping for Peter’ and the question of which racist remarks constitute advocacy of hatred
On Saturday hundreds of people lined up outside Tescos in Belfast city centre clutching ‘I am shopping for Peter’ posters, in a creative anti-racist protest against the First Minister‘s assertion, among other matters, that he would only trust Muslims “to go down to the shop for me, to give me the right change…”. Peter Robinson…Continue reading ‘Shopping for Peter’ and the question of which racist remarks constitute advocacy of hatred
Stop and Search: legal certainty and dodgy consultation outcomes, two judgements of broader note
Last week Justice Treacy delivered judgements in two judicial reviews relating to the use of emergency-type stop and search powers under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007, which will be of broader interest to other policy areas too. The first judgement, related to the legal certainty test under human rights law, i.e. whether…Continue reading Stop and Search: legal certainty and dodgy consultation outcomes, two judgements of broader note
An end to miscarriages of justice?
The above headline would be one usually welcomed by human rights activists here and throughout the world given the significance it could have: no more convictions on the basis of ‘confessions’ beaten out of suspects; an end to police corruption, an end to agent provocateurs fitting up persons, the list goes on. Yesterday however the…Continue reading An end to miscarriages of justice?
UK arrest of Moazzam Begg, ex Guantanamo Bay detainee – Belfast event
I am concerned to hear of the arrest of Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo Bay detainee. Here is an article that I wrote for Amnesty International’s blog, “Belfast and Beyond”, when Moazzam Begg spoke about his experiences alongside Guantanamo former military guard at St Mary’s University College in Belfast in 2009. I haven’t followed the work…Continue reading UK arrest of Moazzam Begg, ex Guantanamo Bay detainee – Belfast event
The Haass / O’Sullivan Proposed Agreement on parades and flags: analysis from a human rights perspective
CAJ made two submissions to the Haass process. The first (S419) related to advocating a single mechanism to deal with the legacy of the conflict. The other sets of issues dealt with by the Panel of Parties, including “Flags, symbols, emblems and related matters” and dealing with parades and protests, were dealt with in a…Continue reading The Haass / O’Sullivan Proposed Agreement on parades and flags: analysis from a human rights perspective
Why “Shoot to Kill” won’t go away
Rights NI is delighted to welcome this guest post from Professor Fionnuala Ni Aoláin. Professor Ní Aoláin is concurrently Associate Director at the University of Ulster’s Transitional Justice Institute in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the Dorsey & Whitney Chair in Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. She is co-founder and associate director of the Transitional…Continue reading Why “Shoot to Kill” won’t go away
CONFERENCE: Challenging the Oppression of Lawyers in Times of Conflict
On Wednesday 13 November 2013 the Human Rights Centre, School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast are hosting a one day conference entitled ‘Challenging the Oppression of Lawyers in Times of Conflict’. It is open to anyone interested in conflict studies, politics, international relations, human rights, international law, justice and transitional justice. SPEAKERS…Continue reading CONFERENCE: Challenging the Oppression of Lawyers in Times of Conflict
(More) UK intervention in Syria: some additional questions
On the face of it last week was a good week for scrutinising power in that questions from the UK Parliament did ultimately derail the stated desire of the UK government to partake in an imminent attack on Syria (in effect a further intervention given the existing levels of UK support for the rebels). Among those who …Continue reading (More) UK intervention in Syria: some additional questions
Sectarian/racist expression and restricting parades to protect the rights of others: implications of Vona v Hungary
On 9 July 2013 the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in the case of Vona v Hungary relating to a supremacist organisation engaged in military-style assemblies. The authorities had ultimately dissolved the organisation following its attempt, blocked by police, to march through a street inhabited by Roma families. In the context of protecting…Continue reading Sectarian/racist expression and restricting parades to protect the rights of others: implications of Vona v Hungary
15 YEARS AFTER REFERENDUM, UK GOV URGED TO DELIVER BILL OF RIGHTS
Fifteen years ago today people in Northern Ireland took to the polls to vote in the Good Friday Agreement referendum. From an exceptionally high voter turn-out of 81.1% a resounding 71.1% voted in favour of the Agreement, with all of its provisions. The Agreement was firmly anchored in human rights and equality and a key…Continue reading 15 YEARS AFTER REFERENDUM, UK GOV URGED TO DELIVER BILL OF RIGHTS
What does “National Security” actually mean?
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) published a report in late 2012 entitled “The Policing You Don’t See”. It highlighted the ‘parallel justice system’ currently operating in Northern Ireland. This consists of a police force accountable to local mechanisms and another “force outside a force” responsible for national security issues, operating from within…Continue reading What does “National Security” actually mean?