NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
HIA Inquiry: Woman unfairly denied legal representation, High Court judge rules
BY ALAN ERWIN – 13 JANUARY 2015
A child abuse victim was unfairly denied legal representation at a major inquiry into alleged historical offences at care homes, a High Court judge ruled today.
Mr Justice Treacy held that a bar had effectively been erected against her and others who claim they suffered sexual and physical assaults.
He is now set to quash the decision by a former judicial colleague to reject her request for publicly-funded lawyers.
His verdict could also have wider funding issues for the ongoing Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) as it examines evidence from up to 360 witnesses.
But the judge stressed: “The consequences in terms of costs do not remove the public law necessity for legal representation out of public funds if that is what fairness requires.”
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