Prof Luke Moffett, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast
This presentation draws on a body of academic research and expertise to propose a new, dedicated bereavement compensatory scheme with the dual aims of offering a standardised lump-sum payment to bereaved families due to conflict-related violence and acknowledging the families’ loss as a discrete harm requiring redress. The presentation explains what such a scheme would look like, along with its operation and fit within the current legacy repeal debate, helping to inform Assembly discussion in this area, including deliberations concerning the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill.
The presentation draws on findings from an academic study of bereaved victims in Northern Ireland – in particular, their rights under compensation mechanisms and how those mechanisms treated them during the Northern Ireland conflict known as the “Troubles”. That research included extensive archival review and interviews with victims, evidencing the inadequacy of compensation awards during the height of the Troubles and arbitrary and discriminatory practice when making such awards. For example, the study highlighted that while the existing criminal injury compensation scheme – introduced in 1968 – was designed to alleviate the financial burdens caused by criminal acts, including wrongful deaths, the scheme has proven to be ill-equipped in responding fairly to the loss suffered by bereaved families, due to the sheer scale and the political nature of the violence during the Troubles. The study found awards were calculated primarily on narrow criteria, such as loss of income or funeral costs, resulting in many families receiving amounts that bore little relation to the emotional and social harm endured. In some examined cases, it found families had been awarded as little as £43 to cover funeral expenses, and where multiple deaths occurred within a single family, compensation had varied considerably between beneficiaries, creating a “financial hierarchy of victims”, where the losses of some bereaved families were treated as less significant than others, even where the deaths had occurred during the same incident. The research also found the compensatory scheme exhibited gender bias, with women, children and co-habiting partners often having received significantly lower awards or excluded altogether. Moreover, it found inadequate recognition of bereavement itself as a distinct form of loss warranting meaningful reparation.
The presentation also draws on comparative research relating to the Commission for Victims and Survivors, to support Assembly considerations.
Date of Seminar: 6 May 2026
Policy Briefing
Presentation
Seminar video will be forthcoming