The Sinn Féin leader, Mr Gerry Adams, has been accused in court of abusing the human rights of people in the loyalist Shankill area of his West Belfast constituency, by refusing to take his seat at Westminster.
The claim was made by a lawyer for Cllr Frank McCoubrey, who applied for leave to seek a judicial review of the MP's decision not to attend parliament.
Before going into the High Court in Belfast, Mr McCoubrey said the Shankill was one of the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom.
Mr McCoubrey's lawyer, Mr John O'Hara QC, conceded that for the application to succeed under human rights legislation, he had to establish that the MP was a "public authority". Mr O'Hara said Mr McCoubrey did not expect Mr Adams to support his Unionist stance but he did expect him to intervene and do what he could on a non-party political basis in social and economic matters.
Mr John Larkin QC, for Mr Adams, said the oath of allegiance was offensive to Mr Adams and it was Sinn Féin policy to abstain from attending Westminster.
Mr Justice Girvan reserved judgment.