NI leaders ‘violating global treaty’ – eight-year-old boy involved in legal battle over Covid sport lockdown

A law firm is preparing a courtroom challenge to Northern Ireland’s political leaders on behalf of an eight-year-old boy, alleging that he has been unlawfully denied the right to play sport.
Stephen Atherton, the Glaswegian lawyer - now based in Magherafelt - who is taking the caseStephen Atherton, the Glaswegian lawyer - now based in Magherafelt - who is taking the case
Stephen Atherton, the Glaswegian lawyer - now based in Magherafelt - who is taking the case

The child – whom the firm is not naming – hails from Magherafelt and is a keen footballer, and the plan is to launch a judicial review of the Executive’s de facto ban on all but “elite” sports due to the effect which it has had upon him.

The case is being led by Stephen Atherton of John J McNally Solicitors.

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The father-of-five recently completed a Master’s Degree in sporting law, and has volunteered as both an Irish League youth coach and a disciplinary advisor to the IFA.

The initial March ban on sports gatherings was relaxed during the summer, but tightened up again in October with a renewed ban on either indoor or outdoor contact sports, said Mr Atherton.

He recently watched a training session conducted under these rules for some Glenavon FC academy players – and it was “soul-destroying”.

He told the News Letter: “We had 12-year-old children without footballs running up and down a pitch.

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“On the next pitch were young girls, I think it was the local Lurgan hockey club – without sticks, without balls.”

And what little sport can be played will come to an end from this Friday, when even tighter rules enter force banning all but “elite” sports.

Speaking of the eight-year-old boy, Mr Atherton said the curbs upon sport are “affecting his mental health badly”.

“The cruel and bitter irony is however that it is not the Covid 19 virus that is harming our children, it is society’s response,” he said.

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“Our children have been left terrified, traumatised and stigmatised by society’s response to the pandemic, and the decision of the executive to extend the ban on participation in their sport will visit further physical and emotional harm upon them.”

The legal challenge will take the following form.

Mr Atherton sent a written request via email to the Executive Office, asking them to voluntarily end the ban on children’s sports (the Executive Office says it has received no such correspondence –even though the News Letter has seen a reply in black-and-white from the Department of Finance’s legal office, saying it got the request just before 3pm on Monday).

If the Executive does not agree to end the ban, the next phase is to apply for leave to take a judicial review – effectively meaning that a judge will decide if they have a case which could be taken forward.

A hearing on this could take place by the end of this week, said Mr Atherton; they already have a barrister lined up and arguments mapped out.

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Mr Atherton’s case rests on the claim that the Executive has breached the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – a treaty to which the UK is party. It applies to people under 18.

Specifically, he says the government has violated:

• Article 3 (the state must consider a child’s best interests);

• Article 12 (allowing the voice of children to be heard in the decision-making process);

• Article 24 (the right “to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health”);

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• And Article 31 (which obliges states to “recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure [and to] engage in play and recreational activities”).

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