By their powers combined: The Two Article 2s at work in the <em>In re Dillon</em> challenge to the Legacy Act

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal’s In re Dillon judgment marked a profound reversal for the UK Government. The Court, building upon the judgment of the High Court, found that significant elements of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 could not be reconciled with the UK’s commitments under either the Human Rights Act or the Windsor Framework. In the former regard, the issue revolved around the investigative duties which accompany Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the latter, at issue is the diminution of rights for victims of serious crime which had applied under the Victims’ Directive while the UK was an EU member state, and which were thereby covered by the UK’s commitments to maintaining rights and equality protections derived from EU law in Northern Ireland law after Brexit under Article 2 of the Windsor Framework. In this article we find nothing particularly complex in the positions adopted by the Court of Appeal on either of these issues. Instead, what this furore represents is the UK Government, in the hands of both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, finding itself surprised and exposed by the Northern Ireland judiciary’s confidence in employing these rights protection mechanisms.