Britain launches appeal in Northern Ireland amnesty law case

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Thursday it had lodged an appeal after a ruling against its amnesty law for ex-soldiers and militants involved in Northern Ireland’s decades of violence.

Britain’s offering of conditional amnesties to ex-soldiers and militants involved in three decades of bloody confrontation in Northern Ireland, called the Legacy Act, was ruled to breach human rights by a judge in February.

Britain said it had lodged an appeal application with the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, reiterating its commitment to going ahead with the plan, and in line with its guidance at the time of the ruling.

“We remain committed to implementing the Legacy Act and delivering the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to provide better outcomes for victims and survivors of the Troubles by giving them more information about what happened to their loved ones,” the government statement said.

The contentious law sparked more than 20 legal challenges in Northern Ireland, mostly from victims’ families, who said it contravened the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and a 1998 peace deal.

Belfast’s High Court found in their favour. The judge’s ruling said the section of a new law introduced last year to offer immunity from prosecution for those who cooperated fully with a new investigative body should be disapplied.

Victims’ families, human rights organisations and all major political parties in Northern Ireland – both British unionist and Irish nationalist – oppose the law.

The Irish government is mounting a separate legal challenge against Britain at the European Court Of Human Rights, where it has also argued that the British move was incompatible with its obligations under the European Convention.

(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sarah Young, editing by William Schomberg and William James)