The Irish government believes that the new British law contradicts previous agreements between the countries

The Irish government has decided to file a lawsuit against the United Kingdom in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights over a law that effectively provides immunity from prosecution for people who took part in the civil war in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1998. 

This is reported by Sky News.

In September 2023, the Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Act came into force in the UK, granting immunity to persons cooperating with the newly created Government Reconciliation Commission (ICRIR).

The Irish government believes that this law contradicts the Good Friday Agreement, violating the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights related to crimes during the conflict at that time.

Among other things, the ECHR has previously recognized the amnesty as incompatible with the obligation of a country party to the European Convention on Human Rights to be able to investigate cases of unnatural death and allegations of torture.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin confirmed that the interstate dispute with the UK concerns this particular provision of the Good Friday Agreement, recalling that the Council of Europe and the UN had previously expressed reservations about the British law.

"Most importantly, this legislation is opposed by the people of Northern Ireland, especially the victims and families who will be directly affected by this law," he emphasized.

The British Government's Northern Ireland Office has previously argued that the law complies with the European Convention on Human Rights, citing that the amnesty "may contribute to the goal of reconciliation."

In Northern Ireland, during the 1960s and 1990s, there was a religiously motivated confrontation between Catholics who favored reunification with Ireland and Protestants who favored remaining part of the United Kingdom. The conflict, which ended in 1998 with the signing of the so-called Good Friday Agreement, resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 people.