Burns (Patricia) Application for leave to apply for Judicial Review
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2022] NIQB 18 |
| Date | 11 March 2022 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2022] NIQB 18
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: HUM11787
Delivered: 11/03/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
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QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
(JUDICIAL REVIEW)
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IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY PATRICIA BURNS FOR LEAVE
TO APPLY FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
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Desmond Hutton QC (instructed by Harte Coyle Collins) for the Applicant
Paul McLaughlin QC (instructed by the Attorney General’s Office) for the proposed
Respondent
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HUMPHREYS J
Introduction
[1] On 13 July 1972 Thomas Aquinas Burns was shot and killed by a member of
the British Army outside the Glenpark Social Club in North Belfast. An inquest was
held on 3 April 1973 at which a jury returned a verdict of misadventure.
[2] The applicant, who is the daughter of the deceased, instructed solicitors who
wrote to the Attorney General’s Office (‘AGO’) on 12 October 2015 seeking a
direction for a fresh inquest pursuant to the powers of the Attorney General (‘AG’)
under section 14 of the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 (‘the 1959 Act’).
[3] Correspondence ensued which resulted in a final decision on 7 June 2019
whereby the then AG, John Larkin QC, refused the applicant’s request and did not
direct a new inquest. It is this decision which is under challenge in these
proceedings.
Background
[4] The evidence presented at the original inquest reveals that the deceased and
his friends were leaving the social club in the early hours of 13 July. There had been
shooting in the area earlier which had delayed their departure. The area in question
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