Lavery's (Patrick) Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | McCloskey LJ |
| Judgment Date | 12 February 2020 |
| Neutral Citation | [2020] NIQB 13 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 12 February 2020 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2020] NIQB 13
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing
down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: McC11186
Delivered: 12/02/2020
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 PATRICK LAVERY
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
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McCLOSKEY LJ
Introduction
[1] In common with the case of Robert Lavery [2019/3163/01] the question of
whether the stay of these proceedings should be remov ed at this juncture arises.
[2] These proceedings, which are now of some vintage, were initiated on 28
March 2017. This is an application for judicial review whereby Patrick Lavery (the
Applicant) seeks relief from two public authorities, the Public Re cord Office of
Northern Ireland (“PRO”) and the Department for Communities (“DFC”). The
Applicant is the son of Martin Lavery deceased who was murdered at the family
home in Belfast on 20 December 1992. The Applicant asserts that the murder was
perpetrated by the members of a proscribed organisation (the UVF). He further
complains that the ensuing police investigation was inadequate. It is this complaint
which provides the rational of these proceedings. His quest is to obtain the records
of the inquest into the death of his father, with a view to making representations to
the Attorney General for Northern Ireland to exercise his statutory power to direct a
fresh inquest.
[3] The court has made a total of 16 case management orders. The first of these
issued on 5 October 2017. The most recent such order is dated 24 January 2020.
During the intervening period, leave to apply for judicial review having been
granted, the court conducted an incomplete substantive hearing on 22 February
2018. Mr Hugh Southey QC (with Mr Nicholas Scott of counsel) presented his
client’s case. At this stage I raised the issue of whether the case should proceed
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