Northern Ireland (NI) Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 – Repeal and Petition
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 16
Northern Ireland (NI) Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 – Repeal and Petition
Some Association members may be aware that the Government is proposing to repeal elements of the Northern Ireland (NI) Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act which became law in 2023.
A summary of the aims of the Act is below:
An Act to address the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles and promote reconciliation by establishing an Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, limiting criminal investigations, legal proceedings, inquests and police complaints, extending the prisoner release scheme in the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998, and providing for experiences to be recorded and preserved and for events to be studied and memorialised, and to provide for the validity of interim custody orders. In particular it sought to bring to an end vexatious prosecutions of veterans.
Some of the proposed elements to be repealed are the limiting of criminal investigations, legal proceedings, inquests and police complaints. The removing of these parts of the Act may lead to further investigations and inquests which could result in prosecutions of NI veterans for events that happened many years ago.
A request to highlight concerns about the impact such investigations may have, especially on elderly veterans, has been accepted by the Parliamentary Petitions Committee and was released on Friday 9 May. The Petition requires a minimum of 100,000 signatures for it to be considered for a debate in Parliament.
Petition 725716
Protect Northern Ireland Veterans from Prosecutions
We think that the Government should not make any changes to legislation that would allow Northern Ireland Veterans to be prosecuted for doing their duty in combating terrorism as part of 'Operation Banner'. (1969-2007)
The link to the Government and Parliament Petition site is below. The link should take you directly to the Petition, or use Ctrl left-click.
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