Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland: The Current State of Play

[...]it is worth reminding ourselves how far Northern Ireland has travelled in terms of peace and potential conflict transformation during this period. [...]there is clearly an element of 'residual criminalisation', whereby politically motivated ex-prisoners experience obstacles in relation to employment, criminal injuries, adoption rights, visas for some foreign travel, etc.2 The Belfast Agreement led to the setting up of an Independent Commission on Policing under Chris Patten.3 The Commission produced a radical report with almost 200 recommendations. [...]the law directed that the Coroner could only reach judgments of fact - who was killed, where, when and how - and had no power to order police or military witnesses to give evidence. [...]many inquests were held up for many years due to the state using such mechanisms as Public Interest Immunity Certificates.