Coney, Inquest into the Deaths Of (Re Ruling on Whether Article 2 Applies to the Inquest) [2024] NICoroner 5 (15 January 2024)

Coney, Inquest into the Deaths Of (Re Ruling on Whether Article 2 Applies to the Inquest) [2024] NICoroner 5 (15 January 2024)

McCaughey remains binding authority that Article 2 applies to inquests where the state has decided post-2 October 2000 to hold an inquest into a pre-commencement death, regardless of the temporal scope limits set in Dalton. Therefore, Article 2 applies to this inquest.

Citation
[2024] NICoroner 5
Parties
Deceased: Hugh Gerard Coney; Properly Interested Person: Ministry of Defence (MOD); Properly Interested Person: Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI); Properly Interested Person: Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS); Properly Interested Person: Next of Kin of Hugh Gerard Coney
Jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Judgment Date
15 January 2024
Procedural Posture
Inquest / Ruling on Applicability of Article 2 ECHR to Inquest
Outcome
Article 2 ECHR applies to the inquest into the death of Hugh Gerard Coney.
Legal Topics
Article 2 ECHR, Legacy Inquests, Procedural Obligation to Investigate Deaths, Temporal Scope of Human Rights Act 1998, Convention Values Test
Human Rights Law Coronial Law Public Law Article 2 ECHR Legacy Inquests Procedural Obligation to Investigate Deaths Temporal Scope of Human Rights Act 1998 Convention Values Test

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Parties

Hugh Gerard Coney

Deceased

Ministry of Defence (MOD)

Properly Interested Person

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)

Properly Interested Person

Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS)

Properly Interested Person

Next of Kin of Hugh Gerard Coney

Properly Interested Person

Procedural Posture

Inquest / Ruling on Applicability of Article 2 ECHR to Inquest

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Article 2 ECHR applies to the inquest into the death of Hugh Gerard Coney, given the death occurred in 1974, prior to the Human Rights Act 1998 coming into force
  2. 2 Whether the 'genuine connection' or 'Convention values' tests are satisfied
  3. 3 Whether the decision in McCaughey remains binding post-Dalton

Ratio Decidendi

McCaughey remains binding authority that Article 2 applies to inquests where the state has decided post-2 October 2000 to hold an inquest into a pre-commencement death, regardless of the temporal scope limits set in Dalton. Therefore, Article 2 applies to this inquest.

Court Disposition

Article 2 ECHR applies to the inquest into the death of Hugh Gerard Coney.

Orders

  • The inquest will proceed as an Article 2 compliant inquest, following the broader Middleton interpretation of 'how' the deceased died.