McEvoy's (John) Application v Chief Constable of PSNI
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | McCloskey LJ |
| Judgment Date | 12 February 2020 |
| Neutral Citation | [2020] NIQB 14 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 12 February 2020 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2020] NIQB 14
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing
down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: McC11192
Delivered: 12/02/2020
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
___________
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY JOHN McEVOY
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
v
CHIEF CONSTABLE OF PSNI
___________
McCLOSKEY LJ
Preface
[1] The gravamen of the case made by John McEvoy (the Applicant) is that the
Chief Constable of PSNI (the sole Respondent) has infringed the Applicant’s rights
under Article 2 ECHR by failing to conduct a prompt, effective and independent
investigation into his attempted murder at the Thierafurth Inn, Co Down, on
19 November 1992 when it is alleged that two UVF gunmen shot at the Applicant,
wounded two other people and killed one person. The Order 53 Statement recites inter
alia:
“Recent information and evidence that has come to light …
suggest that collusion between the security services,
including the [UDR and RUC] and the UVF was a
‘significant feature’, as it was found to have been by the
Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland in relation to the
linked Loughinisland Bar shooting and murders. In
particular, key intelligence was not passed on, seemingly to
protect police sources. Despite the new information and
evidence, including the evidence of collusion and the
identification of three suspects said to have been involved in
the shooting, there has to date been no effective
investigation into the shooting and nobody has been
charged, prosecuted or convicted in relation thereto.”
It is contended inter alia –
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“…. the required investigation must be undertaken by an
independent and impartial investigatory body, independent
of the PSNI and its chief constable.”
[2] The affidavit evidence on behalf of the Chief Constable indicates inter alia that
the Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) of PSNI has a workload of hundreds of historical
cases. Mr McEvoy’s case is number 524 and “… it will likely be many years before these
cases are reviewed in sequence given the present level of resourcing within LIB”. The Chief
Constable’s affidavit also defends the previous police investigation, including the
averment that the RUC “… conducted a good investigation and …. no further lines of
inquiry were outstanding or had been identified”, a quotation from the draft Historical
Enquiries Team (HET) report of 04 October 2011.
Litigation History
[3] On 20 October 2017, following an initial case management order dated
8 September 2017, this court ordered:
“UPON APPLICATION ex parte by KRW LAW-LLP,
acting on behalf of John McEvoy, (hereinafter referred to as
“the Applicant”) pursuant to Order 53 Rule 3(2) of the
Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980
for leave to apply for Judicial Review,
AND UPON READING the affidavit and the statement
lodged on behalf of the Applicant,
AND UPON the applicant by his Solicitor and Counsel
appearing before the Honourable Mr Justice McCloskey
having been adjourned on 8 September 2017, pursuant to a
direction of the said Judge under Order 53 Rule 3 (10),
AND UPON Counsel on behalf of the Chief Constable of
the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the first named
proposed Respondent and Counsel on behalf of the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the second named
proposed Respondent and Counsel on behalf of the
Department of Justice, the third named proposed
Respondent attending on the invitation of the Court,
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. the Applicant do have leave to apply to a single Judge of
the Queen’s Bench Division for Judicial Review,
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