UK Government Ordered to Propose Investigation into Pat Finucane

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has mandated the UK government to decide within six weeks on how to conduct a human rights compliant investigation into the 1998 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. This follows a 2019 UK Supreme Court ruling that found the state had failed to provide an Article 2 compliant investigation into Finucane’s death, which involved collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and UK security forces. The government’s 2020 decision against establishing a public inquiry led to further litigation, culminating in the High Court quashing this decision in December 2022. The Court of Appeal now requires the government to agree with Finucane’s widow on an investigation process within three weeks, failing which both parties must submit their proposals for the court to decide. Legal representatives included Fiona Doherty KC and Aiden McGowan BL for Geraldine Finucane, and Paul McLaughlin KC and Philip McAteer KC for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.