In the matter of an application by Margarita Duffy for Judicial Review (Appellant)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0175

Parties

Appellant(s)

Margarita Duffy

Respondent(s)

Ministry of Defence

Coroners Service for Northern Ireland

Issue

Does the killing by British soldiers of the Appellant’s father in 1978 fall within the temporal scope of the Human Rights Act 1998? Did the Ministry of Defence act irrationally in delaying in the disclosure of evidence in the inquest?

Facts

The Appellant is Margarita Duffy, the daughter of Patrick Duffy (“the Deceased”), who was killed by British soldiers in 1978. In March 2019, the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland directed that there be an inquest into the circumstances surrounding the killing of the deceased. There followed a period of delay, during which the Ministry of Defence (“MOD”) did not make disclosure of relevant materials, citing limitations on its resources given the number of other inquests on foot at the same time. On 21 April 2023, the inquest opened, but there were still delays in disclosure. In November 2023, the MOD indicated that sensitive material would not be disclosed until July 2024 due to the limited number of Subject Matter Experts available to carry out the work. In January 2024, the coroner ruled that the inquest would not be listed before 1 May 2024 as the MOD would not be able to complete the disclosure process in time. This means that the inquest cannot now be completed due to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which prohibited inquests after 1 May 2024. The Appellant brought judicial review proceedings, arguing that the delays in making disclosure were contrary to Article 2 ECHR and were irrational as a matter of public law. The High Court rejected those contentions, holding that the killing of the Deceased fell outside the temporal scope of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“the HRA”) because they occurred more than 12 years before the coming into force of the HRA on 2 October 2000. The High Court also held that the MOD’s delays were not irrational. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the High Court. The Appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

17 October 2025

Case origin

PTA

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