Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

PART 1 Close family members

Meaning of “close family member”

1 (1) This Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of—

(a) section 9, and

(b) Part 2 of this Schedule,

to determine whether one person (F) is a close family member of another person (D).

(2) F is a close family member of D if F—

(a) was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on the day of D’s death,

(b) is a child of D,

(c) is a parent of D,

(d) is a brother or sister of D,

(e) is a step-child of D,

(f) was a step-parent of D on the day of D’s death or is a step-parent of D on the day on which the request for the relevant review is made,

(g) is a half-brother or half-sister of D, or

(h) is a step-brother or step-sister of D.

(3) Paragraphs 2 to 5 set out the meanings of “co-habitee”, “step-child”, “step-parent”, “step-brother” and “step-sister” for the purposes of this paragraph.

(4) In this paragraph “relevant review” means—

(a) the review for which a request is made (where this Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of section 9), or

(b) the review to which the final report relates (where this Part of this Schedule applies for the purposes of Part 2 of this Schedule).

Co-habitee

2 F was the “co-habitee” of D on the day of D’s death if—

(a) on that day F was living in the same household as D in a relationship with D corresponding to marriage or to civil partnership, and

(b) F had been doing so for a period of at least two years ending with that day.

Step-child

3 F is a “step-child” of D if F is a child of a person—

(a) who was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on the day of D’s death, or

(b) who had ceased to be the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of D on any day within the period of two years ending with the day of D’s death.

Step-parent

4 F was, or is, a “step-parent” of D on a particular day if F—

(a) was, or is, the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on that day, or

(b) had ceased to be the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on any day within the period of two years ending with that day.

Step-brother or step-sister

5 F is the “step-brother” or “step-sister” of D if F is a child of a person—

(a) who was the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on day of D’s death, or

(b) who had ceased to be the spouse, partner or co-habitee of a parent of D on any day within the period of two years ending with the day of D’s death.

Interpretation

6 For the purposes of paragraph 3, 4 or 5, one person (A) is, or was, the co-habitee of another person (B) at a particular time if—

(a) at that time A is, or was, living in the same household as B in a relationship with B corresponding to marriage or to civil partnership, and

(b) A has been, or had been, doing so for a period of at least two years ending with that day.