The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has been plunged into a fresh crisis by a call from two of its members for the resignation of the Chief Commissioner, Prof Brice Dickson, writes Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent.
The call came from Ms Paddy Kelly and Mr Frank McGuinness, who "withdrew" from the commission last September after a letter from Prof Dickson was used by lawyers for the former RUC chief constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, in a case about the Holy Cross school protest the commission had earlier agreed to support.
The commission was set up as part of the Belfast Agreement and is paralleled by a similar commission in this State.
Both are established as independent bodies monitoring human rights abuses, campaigning for human rights and advocating legislative change, where deemed necessary. The two commissions have established a joint committee.
Ms Kelly and Mr McGuinness made their call when it emerged that Prof Dickson had consulted the Northern Ireland Office about an "action plan".
This was being drawn up to address previous concerns within the commission about a number of issues, particularly the controversy concerning the case arising out of loyalist protests outside Holy Cross school.
A parent sought, and obtained, support from the commission in a case against Mr Flanagan, but Prof Dickson later wrote to the former chief constable expressing his disagreement with this decision and saying it was likely to be reconsidered.
In a statement yesterday the NIHRC said it "continued to take very seriously concerns that have been raised about the commission's work".
It also said that it would be issuing a further invitation to Ms Kelly and Mr McGuinness to "sit down with their colleagues for a thorough examination of the issues."
The contacts between Prof Dickson and the Northern Ireland Office about the action plan were revealed in internal commission e-mails leaked to the Irish News.
According to Ms Kelly and Mr McGuinness, this consultation compromised the independence of the commission.
Their resignations prompted renewed calls for Prof Dickson's resignation from the SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, and from Sinn Féin, although he received support from the Alliance party.
The withdrawal of Ms Kelly and Mr McGuinness from the work of the commission follows the resignation of three other members, Dr Inez McCormack, Prof Christine Bell and Mr Patrick Yu, earlier this year.
This arose from disagreements with the way in which a draft bill of rights was being prepared, and criticism of a lack of strategic direction in the commission. Dr McCormack and Prof Bell have now added their voices to the calls for Prof Dickson's resignation.
In an unrelated development, another member of the commission, Mr Chris McGimpsey, resigned in order to contest the Assembly elections for the Ulster Unionist Party. This leaves only seven out of the original 13 members.