By Ella Griffiths

Disclosure: Ella Griffiths is the current Treasurer of the Literific and President-Elect for the society.

On Wednesday 1 May, the Legacy and Reconciliation Act came into force. The Act, passed at Westminster, brings an end to Troubles-related inquests, and prevents future inquests into Troubles-related deaths. In its place, the Act establishes the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to review deaths. Those who cooperate with ICRIR investigations and provide answers are granted immunity from prosecution under the Act.

A day after it took effect, the Literific – the University’s debating society – debated the motion that ‘This House Supports the Legacy and Reconciliation Act.’ Held in the Old McMordie Hall, the Literific’s historic home, the debate featured several guest speakers. This included Rory McShane, who chaired the debate. Mr McShane was President of Queen’s Students’ Union in 1968-69 and Secretary of the Literific in 1966-67.

Proposition speakers included Jeffrey Dudgeon MBE (former UUP Councillor), Matthew Robinson (former Chair of the NI Conservatives) and Trevor Ringland MBE (former UK Special Envoy to the US on NI). Opposition speakers included John Finucane MP (Sinn Féin’s North Belfast MP), Professor Colin Harvey (Director of the QUB Human Rights Centre) and Gavin Booth (Partner at Phoenix Law).

The vote taken before the debate revealed strong opposition to the Legacy Act among the attendees on the evening. There were 10 votes in favour of the motion, 44 against and 10 abstentions.

Speaking in favour of the Legacy Act, Mr Dudgeon said: “It must be noted… the sheer cost of all the re-investigations, over two billion pounds to date, and the impact it was having on the courts, which are simply clogged up. Ordinary cases here take two years to come to trial, unlike one year in England. That should change.”

“The Act,” he continued, “is the continuation of ‘the corruption of justice.’ But it has to be. Amnesties are necessary, even in democracies subject to international law.”

Opposing the motion and closing the debate, Mr Finucane argued: “Endorsing this legislation is a way of burying the past and deliberately inflicting pain on those families whose past is their future, whose past is something very real to them. Because there remains a doubt and a question about what exactly the past means.”

The debate was the 25th and final Literific debate of the academic year. It was lively but respectful, with lots of notable guests in attendance. However, the arguments presented on the night didn’t seem to change many minds. The opposition won the vote at the end overwhelmingly.

Commenting on the debate, outgoing President Daniel Toft said: “Events like this is what the Literific is all about - respectfully debating the big issues of the day facing us all in Northern Ireland and beyond.” He noted that the Literific “was the training ground for key members of the civil rights movement, and has been historically ahead of its time… Two months after the use of the atomic bomb, we debated it. Months before the NHS was introduced in Northern Ireland, we debated it. And a day after the Legacy and Reconciliation Act came into force, we debated it.”

Edited by Claire Dickson

Ella Griffiths is the current treasurer of Queen’s Radio and the Literific.

QUB LITERIFIC HOSTS LEGACY DEBATE AS THE NEW ACT COMES INTO FORCE