Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

Section 9

SCHEDULE 3 Family members

PART 1 Close family members

Meaning of “close family member”

1 (1) This Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of—

(a) section 9, and

(b) Part 2 of this Schedule,

to determine whether one person (F) is a close family member of another person (D).

(2) F is a close family member of D if F—

(a) was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on the day of D’s death,

(b) is a child of D,

(c) is a parent of D,

(d) is a brother or sister of D,

(e) is a step-child of D,

(f) was a step-parent of D on the day of D’s death or is a step-parent of D on the day on which the request for the relevant review is made,

(g) is a half-brother or half-sister of D, or

(h) is a step-brother or step-sister of D.

(3) Paragraphs 2 to 5 set out the meanings of “co-habitee”, “step-child”, “step-parent”, “step-brother” and “step-sister” for the purposes of this paragraph.

(4) In this paragraph “relevant review” means—

(a) the review for which a request is made (where this Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of section 9), or

(b) the review to which the final report relates (where this Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of Part 2 of this Schedule).

Co-habitee

2 F was the “co-habitee” of D on the day of D’s death if—

(a) on that day F was living in the same household as D in a relationship with D corresponding to marriage or to civil partnership, and

(b) F had been doing so for a period of at least two years ending with that day.

Step-child

3 F is a “step-child” of D if F is a child of a person—

(a) who was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on the day of D’s death, or

(b) who had ceased to be the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on any day within the period of two years ending with the day of D’s death.

Step-parent

4 F was, or is, a “step-parent” of D on a particular day if F—

(a) was, or is, the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on that day, or

(b) had ceased to be the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on any day within the period of two years ending with that day.

Step-brother or step-sister

5 F is the “step-brother” or “step-sister” of D if F is a child of a person—

(a) who was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on day of D’s death, or

(b) who had ceased to be the spouse, partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on any day within the period of two years ending with the day of D’s death.

Interpretation

6 For the purposes of paragraph 3, 4 or 5, one person (A) is, or was, the co-habitee of another person (B) at a particular time if—

(a) at that time A is, or was, living in the same household as B in a relationship with B corresponding to marriage or to civil partnership, and

(b) A has been, or had been, doing so for a period of at least two years ending with that day.

PART 2 Relevant family members

Meaning of “relevant family member”

7 (1) This Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of section 15 or 17 to determine whether one person (F) is a relevant family member of another person (D) who is—

(a) in the case of a review of a death—

(i) the person to whose death the review relates,

(ii) another person killed in the relevant event, or

(iii) a person who suffered serious physical or mental harm in the relevant event and who has subsequently died; or

(b) in the case of a review of other harmful conduct—

(i) a person killed in the relevant event, or

(ii) a person who suffered serious physical or mental harm in the relevant event and who has subsequently died.

(2) F is a relevant family member of D if—

(a) F is a close family member of D whom the ICRIR has identified after taking such steps as the ICRIR considers reasonable, or

(b) in a case where no close family members have been identified after taking such steps, F is another member of the family of D whom the ICRIR—

(i) has identified after taking such steps as the ICRIR considers reasonable, and

(ii) considers it appropriate to be given the opportunity to make representations under section 16(2) or (3) or section 17(4).

(3) In this paragraph “relevant event” has the same meaning as in section 15 or 17.