Coroners cannot currently be allocated to outstanding legacy inquests into Troubles deaths in Northern Ireland, a court has heard.
Presiding coroner Mr Justice Michael Humphreys said he understood the “disappointment, upset and anger” this will cause to relatives who have an expectation that inquests will be carried out into how their loved ones died.
A number of inquests are proceeding in Northern Ireland against the backdrop of the Government’s new Legacy Act, which states that any legacy inquests which have not reached the point of verdict by May 1 2024 will be discontinued.
Mr Justice Humphreys said pressure to complete already running inquests ahead of the cut-off point means there are “simply no resources available” to allocate resources to remaining cases.
He said that even if resources could be allocated to the cases, it would be difficult for them to be completed ahead of May 1.
Giving an update at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on Friday, the presiding coroner said the Legacy Inquest Unit (LIU) had been established in February 2019 with an aim of hearing outstanding legacy inquests in Northern Ireland within a five year timeframe.
He said the work initially comprised of 53 inquests relating to 94 Troubles deaths.
Mr Justice Humphreys said that a number of inquests had concluded and delivered findings, including the inquest into the Ballymurphy massacre, which was already underway before the LIU was established.
However, he said that several more, including the inquests into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown and the Kingsmill massacre, still had to be completed.
He told the court: “Six inquests have concluded and findings delivered. A further 16 are part heard and four others are under active case management by assigned coroners.
“Thirteen inquests are listed for hearing between now and April 2024.
“Eighteen coroners of different judicial tiers are currently committed to legacy inquests.”
He said cases which would be impacted by the Legacy Act were deaths which occurred between January 1 1966 and April 10 1988.
Mr Justice Humphreys said there were a further 10 legacy cases which have not yet been assigned to a coroner.
He said that four of these cases occurred within the timeframe stipulated in the Act.
The presiding coroner said the Attorney General had also ordered an additional nine inquests into 18 Troubles deaths which were not part of the original LIU five-year plan. He said all but one of these deaths occurred in the timeframe stipulated in the Government Act.
These include the murder of Ian Sproule in Co Tyrone in 1991.
Mr Justice Humphreys said the High Court would hear a legal challenge to the Government’s Act next week.
He said: “I have taken this opportunity to set out the position in relation to all ongoing and outstanding legacy inquests in order that all practitioners, interested persons and the public are aware of the complete picture as far as the five-year plan is concerned.
“For the most part PIPs (properly interested persons) accept that there is no real prospect of an unallocated inquest concluding prior to May 1 2024.
“The PSNI and the Ministry of Defence make the point that imposing further disclosure obligations upon them would have an adverse effect upon the progress of the inquests which are part heard.”
The presiding coroner said he was conscious of the obligations set out in law to hold inquests as soon as is practicable.
He added: “The ability to comply with such obligation is tempered by the finite nature of resources.
“As will be evident, there are a series of inquests which are part heard where coroners intend to complete hearing evidence over the course of the next five months.
“The net result of this is that resources have been stretched to their limit.
“These are resources in terms of Legacy Inquest Unit solicitors, support staff, legal representatives and disclosure experts in the various state agencies, court rooms and court staff, counsel with expertise in the field, expert witnesses and coroners.
“Coroners have displayed a willingness to bring the inquests they are managing to a conclusion before May 1 2024.
“In order to achieve this they will require the focused input and the dedication of resources of all concerned.
“The unfortunate but inevitable effect of the position which all PIPs and practitioners find themselves in is that there are simply no resources available which would enable me, in my role as presiding coroner, to allocate responsibility for any of the remaining legacy inquests to coroners at the moment.
“Even if I were to do so, experience indicates it would be very difficult for an inquest to come to a conclusion prior to May 1 2024.”
The presiding coroner added: “I recognise the disappointment, upset and anger that this will cause to relatives whose loved ones died and who have an expectation that an inquest will be held to find out how the death occurred.”
He said he would not take a final view on the future of outstanding legacy inquests until after the High Court delivered its ruling on the Government’s Legacy Act
