The decision to automatically relegate Institute, when the club were capable of avoiding relegation across their remaining games, is hardly something any right thinking person would hold up as sporting integrity. The club were right to challenge the decision, and the manner in which it was made. There are many meritorious points in their favour, […]
By Jamie Bryson @JamieBrysonCPNI There will be two terms repeatedly used in this article. One is peace and the other is the process. It is necessary to particularise both at the outset. Peace, in my view, is an absence of violence. Those committed to peace are committed to pursuing their political objectives, or continuing ‘conflict’, […]
By Jamie Bryson @JamieBrysonCPNI This week the online trolling account ‘LAD’ disappeared. It came after one of its founders, John-Paul Whearty, took to social media to complain about being held accountable for the actions of the page. It was all a little bit like wallowing in self-pity and expressing sorrow because his actions had caught […]
By Richard Bullick @RichardBullick1 On Friday, the Belfast News Letter published an article setting out my concerns about a clause in the Executive Committee (Functions) Bill. It was my contention that the bill rolls back some of the key safeguards that were part of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006. The full article […]
By Jamie Bryson @JamieBrysonCPNI There has been much discussion around the ongoing dispute between the Northern Amateur Football League (NAFL) and Donaghadee Football Club in relation to the conclusion of season 2019/20. A significant amount of this discussion is uninformed, and fundamentally misunderstands the issues in dispute. Therefore, this article seeks to provide a simple […]
By Jamie Bryson The ‘independent’ IFA Appeals Panel decision, issued some 13 weeks after it was lodged, is one of the most irrational and legally unintelligible decisions that you are ever likely to see rendered by any quasi-judicial appeals panel. The author, Adam Wood, with which the other two (unknown) panel members apparently agree, quite […]
Editor@UnionistVoice.com @JamieBrysonCPNI It appears that the security provided at the funeral of Bobby Storey may have been in contravention of the law as set out in the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (‘the 2001 Act’). Belfast City Council state that persons appointed by the family would be “on site to assist the family in ensuring […]
Editor@UnionistVoice.com @JamieBrysonCPNI Let us begin by dissecting Belfast City Council’s (BCC) own statement. In the first paragraph the statement says that following the emergency change to permit 30 persons to gather outside that this permitted the Council to “offer this as an option for mourners”. Belfast City Council did not offer this option for mourners, […]
A statement has been issued by JWB Consultancy who represented the complainants in the case, Mr David English and two local businessmen. Statement on behalf of Mr David English and two other local businessmen following Sunday World clarification “On 7 June 2020 the Sunday World published a malicious, exploitative and entirely inappropriate interview with an […]
Editor@UnionistVoice.com @JamieBrysonCPNI The introduction of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) has been widely welcomed across the political spectrum. The draconian investigative tool has been subjected to little scrutiny; its invasive nature obscured by a ‘the ends justify the means’ approach to tackling crime. That, however, is a dangerous path to go down. UWOs provide extreme draconian […]