Review of Hate Crime Legislation

The Department of Justice commissioned an independent review of hate crime legislation in Northern Ireland led by Judge Desmond Marrinan in June 2019. The Review examined a range of areas, including issues such as a workable and agreed definition of a hate crime, whether the current enhanced sentence approach is appropriate for Northern Ireland and whether new categories of hate crime should be created for characteristics such as gender and any other characteristics.

David McDowell QC and Michael Chambers BL represented the Bar on the Review’s Core Expert Group whilst Joseph O’Keefe BL took part in the Key Stakeholder Group

The Bar Council produced a submission to the public consultation paper in May 2020. Click to view the response in full.