European judges will rule tomorrow on whether the British government is guilty of violating the human rights of IRA members shot dead in Northern Ireland by British troops and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is considering four separate incidents, including one which prompted claims that a shoot-to-kill policy was being operated by the security forces.
Relatives of the victims say the shootings and the subsequent investigations amounted to a breach of the Human Rights Convention, which guarantees the right to life.
The four incidents span a decade and involve the deaths of 12 IRA men and one Sinn Féin member at the hands of the SAS, the RUC and the Ulster Defence Association - allegedly acting in collusion with the RUC.
Lawyers for the families claim excessive force was used and that there was no effective investigation after each incident, in contravention of the requirements of the human rights code, to which Britain is a signatory.
If the Strasbourg judges find that the Convention has been breached, they have the power to award costs and damages.
But, apart from the moral pressure generated by a finding against a government that has signed the Human Rights Convention, they have no power to direct a change in national laws.
PA