Examining the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights in Northern Ireland courts

This article examines the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the legal culture of litigants and judges in Northern Ireland. The results show that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of judicial review cases based upon the ECHR in the years immediately following implementation of the treaty through the Human Rights Act. However, while there has been an increase in the number of ECHR claims by litigants, judges in Northern Ireland have thus far been reluctant to issue declarations of incompatibility pursuant to the Human Rights Act. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis of the likelihood of Northern Irish judges to rule against the government shows that, controlling for other factors, judges are not more willing to rule against the government when the ECHR is invoked. Overall, it appears that the early influence of the ECHR on Northern Irish law has been greatest in the willingness of litigants to bring judicial review cases based upon the treaty—a development that may portend larger changes in UK jurisprudence in the future.