The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
by Stephen Livingstone
1 For discussions of the role of human rights abuses in fuelling political grievances and protest see Michael. Farrell, THE ORANGE STATE, (1976), Claire Palley, The Evolution, Disintegration and Possible Reconstruction of the Northern Ireland Constitution 1 ANGLO-AM. L. REV 368 (1972). For government appointed commissions recognising some of the problems in this area see REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO DISTURBANCES IN NORTHERN IRELAND, Cmd. (N.I.) 532 (1969), REPORT OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE POLICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND, Cmd (N.I.) 535 (1969)
2 For the failures of the Northern Irish courts when in came to tacking discrimination in particular see Kevin Boyle, Tom Hadden and Paddy Hillyard, LAW AND STATE: THE CASE OF NORTHERN IRELAND (1975), Chapter One, Christopher McCrudden, Northern Ireland and the British Constitution in THE CHANGING CONSTITUTION (3rd ed) 338 (Jeffrey Jowell and Dawn Oliver eds 1994)
3 For a discussion of these proposals, and of the general background to the creation of SACHR, see Paul Maguire The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights 1973-80 32 No.Ire.L.Q 31, 32-6 (1981)
4 Id. at 34
5 NORTHERN IRELAND CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSALS, para 104, Cmnd 5259 (1973)
6 My addition in brackets
7 Paul Maguire observes that the government rejected the Commission's arguments for broadening its statutory remit but also advised it not to construe those terms of reference too narrowly. See supra note 18 at 51.
8 SACHR's membership varied between 8 and 16 over its lifetime. No criteria for appointment were indicated in the legislation and not until the 1990's were positions on the Commission publicly advertised. As a result of the Anglo Irish Agreement 1985 the Irish government was given the right to be consulted as to the membership of the Commission but no material on the outcome of such consultation has been made publicly available.
9 SACHR had a small full time staff or usually 4-5 people. The head of this staff, the Commission's Secretary, was normally a civil servant on secondment from the Northern Ireland Office. This was precisely the government department with which SACHR was most often at odds! The author of one study observed that the Commission's secretary "carries considerable influence in major policy decisions of the Commission", see Maureen Maguire, Sitting Still ?: A review of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights 1973-95 (unpublished LLM Thesis, Queens University Belfast, 1995)
10 For discussions of British policy in this period see MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM, BRITISH GOVERNMENT POLICY IN NORTHERN IRELAND 1969-89 (1991), Brendan O'Leary, The Conservative Stewardship of Northern Ireland, 1979-97: Sound-bottomed Contradictions or Slow Learning? XLV Pol. Stud. 663 (1997).
11 Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND: REPORT ON FAIR EMPLOYMENT, Cm 237 (1987)
12 See, for example, Christopher McCrudden, The Evolution of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 in Parliament, in DISCRIMINATION AND PUBLIC POLICY IN NORTHERN IRELAND (Robert Cormack and Robert Osborne eds, 1991) 244.
13 Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, EMPLOYMENT EQUALITY LAW: BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE, Cm 3684 (1997)
14 For example the Commission's recommendations for the repeal of the 1954 Flags and Emblems Act were reflected in the Public Order (Northern Ireland)) Order 1987, as were its proposals to decriminalise adult male homosexuality in Northern Ireland in the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
15 First recommended in its 10th report.
16 First recommended in the 14th report.
17 Which first appeared in the 9th report.
18 First set out in the 10th report.
19 Which appeared regularly from the 10th report onwards. |
