OMAGH BOMB ACCUSED LOSE LEGAL AID APPEAL
Omagh bomb accused lose legal aid appeal
Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, two of the five men being sued over the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity, have failed in their efforts to prevent the Omagh families from receiving exceptional legal aid for their case.
The two men had sought a judicial review of the decision to grant funding of more than �800,000 to the families for their action.
The pair claim that the Lord Chancellor had predetermined the outcome of the legal aid process by publicly offering financial assistance to the families, before such a move had received legal authorisation.
However the Court of Appeal ruled it could not be assumed the government had abandoned its fair and independent judgement.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said: "It is perfectly possible for the government to give a firm pledge in respect of funding and to redeem that pledge by the creation of a statutory framework within which funding may be applied for but whose grant is not guaranteed."
The ruling came during a summer recess in the landmark civil trial, which will resume in Belfast and Dublin in September.
With no-one convicted of the August 1998 Real IRA bombing which killed 29 people, Murphy and Daly, along with convicted dissident republican leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna, are facing a claim for more than �10m damages from the families of some victims. All five deny responsibility.
Alleging bias, Murphy and Daly's legal representatives also argued that the Lord Chancellor had become so closely associated with attempts to secure legal financing that he should have been automatically disqualified from the process.
However, rejecting the pair's contention, Sir Brian said: "Put simply, there is no reason to suppose that, just because he had previously supported the view that the families should be assisted in this way, he would fail to examine the application scrupulously, as he had said in his guidance it would be."
Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, two of the five men being sued over the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity, have failed in their efforts to prevent the Omagh families from receiving exceptional legal aid for their case.
The two men had sought a judicial review of the decision to grant funding of more than �800,000 to the families for their action.
The pair claim that the Lord Chancellor had predetermined the outcome of the legal aid process by publicly offering financial assistance to the families, before such a move had received legal authorisation.
However the Court of Appeal ruled it could not be assumed the government had abandoned its fair and independent judgement.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said: "It is perfectly possible for the government to give a firm pledge in respect of funding and to redeem that pledge by the creation of a statutory framework within which funding may be applied for but whose grant is not guaranteed."
The ruling came during a summer recess in the landmark civil trial, which will resume in Belfast and Dublin in September.
With no-one convicted of the August 1998 Real IRA bombing which killed 29 people, Murphy and Daly, along with convicted dissident republican leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna, are facing a claim for more than �10m damages from the families of some victims. All five deny responsibility.
Alleging bias, Murphy and Daly's legal representatives also argued that the Lord Chancellor had become so closely associated with attempts to secure legal financing that he should have been automatically disqualified from the process.
However, rejecting the pair's contention, Sir Brian said: "Put simply, there is no reason to suppose that, just because he had previously supported the view that the families should be assisted in this way, he would fail to examine the application scrupulously, as he had said in his guidance it would be."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1957
Published Date: 24-Jul-08
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