Northern Ireland First Minister Mr David Trimble is going ahead with an appeal against a High Court ruling that his ban on Sinn Féin ministers attending North-South ministerial meetings is unlawful, it was confirmed today.
Lawyers acting for the Ulster Unionist leader have lodged notice of an appeal at the High Court in Belfast. No date has yet been set for the hearing.
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Mr David Trimble: plans to go ahead with appeal against HIgh Court ruling on North-South meetings |
Mr Justice Brian Kerr ruled in January that the ban on Education Minister Mr Martin McGuinness and Health Minister Ms Bairbre de Brun was unlawful because it was wrongly imposed to put pressure on the IRA to decommission its arsenal of weapons.
However the judge said Mr Trimble did have some discretion on who he nominated to the ministerial meetings.
It is understood Mr Trimble seized on a key passage of the judgment which stated: "I accept that the First Minister could not be required to nominate someone whom he regarded as unsuitable in the sense that that person was working against the implementation of the Agreement.
"Indeed...it would be open to the First Minister to conclude that a potential nominee was unsuitable for nomination because he had not made appropriate efforts to implement the Agreement."
Mr Trimble announced the ban last October as he fought off attempts by hardliners within the party to force their ruling Ulster Unionist Council to vote to order him to withdraw from sharing power with Sinn Féin because of the IRA failure to act over arms.
Mr McGuinness and Ms de Brun challenged the legality of his decision in the courts after they were blocked from attending a number of meetings with their opposite numbers in the Government.
PA