Long considers appeal of sex offenders law ruling

Naomi Long said the costs of the case "have not been significant"

Justice Minister Naomi Long has told the assembly that a recent court ruling which struck down a law on identifying suspected sex offenders has "potentially far-reaching ramifications" for Stormont.

She is currently considering whether the Department of Justice (DoJ) will appeal.

Mrs Long was speaking in response to an urgent question tabled in the assembly.

She described the court judgement as "a profound constitutional ruling" which would have impact across every Stormont department and the legislative process.

"This is the first time the High Court has used the power in section six of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to declare provisions to be outside the legislative competence of the assembly and not law," she said.

She said the costs of the case "have not been significant".

"Costs of any appeal would be similar," she added.

She said any decision to appeal would be hers alone, but she wanted to hear the view of other ministers by 17:00 BST on Tuesday.

Her comments follow a report in the Belfast Telegraph on Monday that said Mrs Long was planning to appeal.

The law, called the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, came into effect in 2023.

It granted anonymity for life - and for 25 years after death - to suspects who were not charged with any sexual offences.

In May a judge ruled the legislation was not compatible with human rights or press freedom.

Media organisations had joined forces in an attempt to have sections of it declared legally invalid.