In the matter of an application by Brenda Downes for leave to apply for Judicial Review
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Gillen J |
| Judgment Date | 24 May 2007 |
| Neutral Citation | [2007] NIQB 40 |
| Date | 24 May 2007 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Year | 2007 |
1
Neutral Citation no. [2007] NIQB 1 Ref:
GIRC5713
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
15/01/2007
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
________
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY BRENDA DOWNES
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
________
GIRVAN J
[1] Following the judgment given by the court in this application I heard
argument for counsel for the parties and counsel instructed on behalf of the
Interim Victims Commissioner Mrs McDougall (“Mrs McDougall”) whom, for
the reasons indicated in the main judgment, I directed to be joined in the
proceedings for the purpose of presenting argument in relation to the
appropriate remedy to be granted in the light of the judgment of the court.
Mr Larkin QC and Mr Scoffield appeared on behalf of Mrs McDougall. I am
indebted to them for their helpful submissions. Mrs McDougall has filed two
affidavits setting out her position in relation to the issues in the matter so far
as affect her position.
[2] In her affidavit Mrs McDougall stated that the first approach made to
her in relation to the post of Interim Victims Commissioner (“IVC”) came
from Mr Donaldson MP on 21 September 2005. He asked her if she would be
interested in putting her name forward for appointment. She considered that
he approached her because he felt that she had the necessary skills and
qualities to do the job well particularly because she had experience lobbying
for victims on behalf of the Forgotten Families Group. Before this approach
she was not aware of the post of IVC and had therefore not considered
applying for the post. This is not surprising since the post was never
advertised and was not a matter of public debate. Initially Mrs McDougall
told Mr Donaldson that she would not be interested in putting her name
forward but she agreed to speak to him on 26 September 2005. On that date
she said she would be prepared to let her name go forward for consideration.
She met Dr Paisley MP and explained that she had no political affiliations and
stressed that she would be impartial and professional in the way in which
she would approach the post. This was accepted by Dr Paisley and Mr
Donaldson. They also discussed and shared the view that there was a need
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