Security Vetting, Discrimination and the Right to a Fair Trial

The Northern Ireland Act 1998 seeks to ensure that domestic law will be made compatible with decisions of the European Court of Human Rights following the European Court of Human Rights' determination in Tinnelly and Sons Ltd v. United Kingdom 1 (and the related case of McElduffv. U.K. 2) that there had been a violation of Article 6, the right to a fair trial, arising from the operation of national security certificates in anti-discrimination law. This note examines the Tinnelly judgment, the government's response to it, and its possible impact on the judiciary in the United Kingdom. It is submitted that the legislative steps taken to address the European Court's ruling do not go far enough in protecting individual rights.