{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Holywell Trust Conversations","title":"The Legacy Act is Here","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2037,"description":"The Legacy Act is Here \n\nThe widely opposed Legacy Bill is now enacted as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, 2023. But it remains widely hated and the Irish government has launched inter-state proceedings against the UK administration. This is a clear and strong sign of how bad relations are between the two governments that are co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.\nOut of what we can now call the Legacy Act comes the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. While this body – abbreviated to ICRIR – investigates past events from the Troubles, the Act limits criminal investigations, legal proceedings, inquests and police complaints. \nThe Act also extends the prisoner release scheme that was initially enacted in 1998. In addition, the legislation aims to provide “for experiences to be recorded and preserved and for events to be studied and memorialised”.\nThe Irish government’s inter-state case claims that the Legacy Act reneges on previous commitments entered into by the UK government through the Stormont House Agreement. In addition, that the legislation is not victim-centred; that it is not consistent with obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, which is a cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement; that it is widely opposed within Northern Ireland; that it allows for the granting of immunity; and that it closes down existing police investigations and civil actions. Ireland argues that the ICRIR investigations are not a substitute for properly resourced police investigations.\nIn the latest Holywell Conversations, Sara Duddy from the Pat Finucane Centre explains why it and the victims it represents will not co-operate with ICRIR. Coinciding with the establishment of ICRIR, the Centre has launched its own ‘Impunity Project’, through which families of victims of Troubles killings seek to challenge false allegations against dead relatives. In some cases – as with Bloody Sunday – the Army...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/PR1KfubV5mQbNCBb39558iwYKVHxNVNcf804_FJPYuQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE3NTgvMTY4MDk4/NTg2MC1hcnR3b3Jr/LmpwZw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}