Ryan's (Veronica) Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NICA 42 |
| Date | 21 June 2021 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
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Neutral Citation No: [2021] NICA 42
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: MOR11561
ICOS No:
Delivered: 21/06/2021
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
___________
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY VERONICA RYAN
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
Appellant
AND IN THE MATTER OF A DECISION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
Respondent
___________
Mr Southey QC with Mr Devine (instructed by KRW Law Solicitors) for the Appellant
Mr Coll QC and Ms Best (instructed by Crown Solicitor) for the Respondent
___________
Before: Morgan LCJ, Colton J and Huddleston J
________
MORGAN LCJ (delivering the judgment of the court)
[1] This is an appeal against a decision of Sir Ronald Weatherup refusing an
application by the appellant on her own behalf and on behalf of James Martin for
judicial review of a decision of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 3 July
2017 refusing applications for compensation for miscarriage of justice under section
133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”). The matters in issue include
the devolution arrangements for justice in Northern Ireland and rights under
Articles 6, 14 and Article 1 Protocol 1 (“A1P1”) of the European Convention on
Human Rights (“the Convention”).
Background
[2] On 9 May 1991 James Martin was convicted of allowing property to be used
for terrorist purposes and aiding and abetting the false imprisonment of
James Fenton between 25 and 26 February 1989 and Alexander Lynch on 5 January
1990. The appellant had already pleaded guilty to those offences. James Martin was
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sentenced to a total of 12 years’ imprisonment comprising 8 years for Lynch and
4 years consecutive for Fenton. The appellant was sentenced to a total of 3 years and
6 months’ imprisonment, 3 years for Lynch and 6 months consecutive for Fenton.
[3] On 30 April 2008 the appellant and James Martin were invited by the
Criminal Cases Review Commission (“CCRC”) to apply to have their convictions
relating to Lynch reviewed based on confidential information. The convictions were
referred to the Court of Appeal and quashed on 9 January 2009. The Court of
Appeal relied on material within a confidential annex provided by the CCRC and
declined to provide any gist or other information upon which they based their
decision due to the sensitive nature of the material. Both applied for compensation
for miscarriage of justice on 26 September 2009. The claims were accepted on
28 May 2012 and substantial compensation paid.
[4] On 21 February 2008 the CCRC invited the appellant and James Martin to
apply for review of the convictions relating to Fenton. The convictions were referred
to the Court of Appeal and quashed on 10 October 2014. The Court of Appeal again
declined to provide full reasons for its decision for the same reasons. The appellant
and James Martin applied for compensation for miscarriage of justice in respect of
these convictions and on 3 July 2017 the Secretary of State refused the applications.
[5] The appellants challenged the decision to refuse the compensation claim by
way of judicial review. An application for a closed material procedure under section
6 of the Justice and Security Act 2013 was made and special advocates appointed.
As a result of further discussions the Order 53 Statement was amended to reflect the
issues arising in this appeal and the closed material procedure application was not
pursued.
The relevant statutory provisions
[6] The United Kingdom ratified the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (“ICCPR”) in 1976 which by Article 14(6) provides for the payment
of compensation for miscarriage of justice in certain situations. This commitment
was implemented in domestic law by section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988:
“(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, when a person has
been convicted of a criminal offence and when
subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has
been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly
discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there
has been a miscarriage of justice, the Secretary of State
shall pay compensation for the miscarriage of justice to
the person who has suffered punishment as a result of
such conviction or, if he is dead, to, his personal
representatives, unless the non-disclosure of the unknown
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Taylor, Ryan and The Department for Communities and The Department for Work and Pensions - Judgement No.2
...In support of these submissions the court was reminded of R (Stott) v –Secretary of State for Justice [2020] AC 51 at [81], Re Ryan [2021] NICA 42 at [57], Re Cox [2021] NICA 46 at [54] and SC v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26 at [69] and [71]. The Court was invited ......
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Bunting's (Suzanne) Application and in the matter of a decision of The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
...perhaps relevant to note that Weatherup J’s decision in the Ryan case was later upheld by the Court of Appeal in Re Ryan’s Application [2021] NICA 42 (and, I understand, permission to appeal against that decision was refused by the Supreme Court on the basis that the application did not rai......