Powers of new Troubles body 'are unprecedented' says Sir Declan Morgan - head of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR)

Sir Declan Morgan of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) made the comments as the new body set out some details around how it intends to operate.

The ICRIR was created under last year’s legacy act – often referred to as a Troubles amnesty.

The law – formally known as ‘The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill’ – ended the prosecution of Troubles offences committed between January 1966 and 1998.

The government instead wanted all such investigations to be carried out by a new body: the ICRIR.

In essence, the idea is for perpetrators to come forward and give an account of how and why they committed their crimes to the ICRIR in the knowledge that the evidence they gave cannot be used against them.

By putting all responsibility for the past on to the ICRIR it would mean “that police forces can get on with day-to-day policing and the police ombudsman can focus their resources on current policing issues,” the government has said.

The ICRIR formally came into being in May this year.

Now it has issued a lengthy statement setting out some of the powers at its disposal.

Accompanying it were comments from Sir Declan, where he described the powers as “unprecedented”.

“The independent commission has the right to access all the information it considers it needs from state organisations and powers to compel witnesses to provide evidence so that it can obtain as much information as possible for its reports to victims, survivors and families.

"While information is in our possession, whether that is witness statements, personal data from families or national security material we must take all necessary steps to handle it responsibly and in accordance with legal obligations.

“Disclosure of the information we obtain is fundamental to the work we are doing and we will seek to publish everything that we possibly can, whilst at the same time recognising there is some information we will not be able to publish for example, due to the risk to life.

“The Commission can see and take into account in its findings all national security material.

"However, where the independent Commission considers it necessary, it will also propose that sensitive material is disclosed.

"It is important that the Secretary of State demonstrates his commitment, by setting out his policy explaining how he will exercise the powers he has to prevent national security material being disclosed.”

Setting out its powers, the ICRIR statement said: “In addition to the full range of police powers for use in its liability investigations, the commission has other statutory powers at its disposal to obtain information from individuals and from organisations.

“The Commission has the powers to issue a statutory notice to a person (or organisation) to attend at a time and place specified by the Commission.

"They can be compelled to provide information (including in response to questioning), documents or any other thing in their custody or control.

"Evidence or such other material may also be required to be provided in the form of a written statement.

"The person on whom notice is served must comply with it, unless the Commissioner for Investigations determines they are unable to comply with it or that it is not reasonable to require them to comply with it.

"Failure to comply with a notice without reasonable excuse can result in a penalty of up to £5000, five times the equivalent that can be given in coroners’ proceedings.

"The commission has strong, legally enforceable powers to obtain information from state organisations, police and armed forces.

"Those ‘relevant authorities’ are legally required to make any information available to the commission that the Commissioner for Investigations reasonably requires for the purposes of, or in connection with, an investigation.

"The authorities must provide all the required information, in full, to the commission.

"They may not redact, summarise, or otherwise alter or obfuscate the information and cannot claim any duty of confidentiality or any other restriction to avoid providing it.

"It is for the Commissioner for Investigations to determine the request for what is reasonably required, not the organisation receiving the request.

"Refusal to meet the Commission’s requests can be followed up with legal sanctions and if necessary a court order to comply.

"What is reasonably required may be broader than what is relevant and this power allows the commission to undertake its own determination of what is relevant to its investigation.”