Séamus Ludlow family appeal over murder inquiry has ruling reserved

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Séamus Ludlow’s family had judgment reserved in their appeal over his murder investigation and proposed inquiries at the Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2020. The family is challenging the High Court’s refusal to compel the State to establish two commissions of inquiry into the Garda investigation.

The High Court held there was no right to an inquiry and that the courts could not force the executive to establish one. The family argued that the State’s failure to act on a Joint Oireachtas Committee recommendation breached Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Minister for Justice’s counsel said the murder investigation remains open, while arguing that the proposed commissions would investigate an investigation rather than identify perpetrators. The Court of Appeal reserved its judgment.