Judgement has been reserved in a High Court action taken by the family of slain IRA volunteer Pearse Jordan.
In November 1992, Mr Jordan, who was unarmed, was shot three times in the back by an undercover RUC unit on the Falls Road.
At the High Court last Friday, counsel for the Jordan family, Mr Seamus Treacy (instructed by Madden and Finucane), argued that the Secretary of State was in continued breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to life – by failing to properly investigate Pearse Jordan’s killing.
Mr Treacy told the court that nothing has changed since the European Court ruled against the British government on the matter in May 2001.
He stated that the government is still in breach of European law, and he called upon the Court of Appeal to issue a declaration that such a breach exists, along with an ‘order of mandamus’ to instruct immediate corrective action from the Secretary of State.
Counsel for the Secretary of State, Declan Morgan, argued that the inquest system is the way in which Article 2 is complied with by the state.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News following the hearing, however, a spokesperson for Madden and Finucane solicitors explained that Pearse Jordan’s inquest is currently adjourned pending full disclosure of relevant material from the state.
It could be at least 2005 before the inquest resumes, said the spokesperson.
A separate Appeal Court hearing by the Jordan family is scheduled to take place this morning, in a bid to appeal the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions not to give reasons for its failure to prosecute any of the RUC officers who were involved in the killing of Pearse Jordan.