The use of non-jury trials in Northern Ireland should be reviewed before a decision is taken in two years' time on whether to continue them, the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission urged today.
The report on security normalisation said the British army had completed its demilitarisation programme, with a peacetime garrison of 4,275 troops marking the ending of the army's 38-year military operation in Northern Ireland in July.
The four-member commission hoped the use of non-jury trials in cases where it was feared jurors might be intimidated would become less frequent as the threat from republican and loyalist groups receded.
But it also acknowledged the changes which had taken place in the criminal justice system with the dispensing of the Diplock non-jury courts and their replacement with a system shaped by the level of paramilitary activity.
"We are nevertheless struck by the way in which, because of the nature of the conditions the DPP can apply, they are linked so closely to the past and so to a situation which we hope will continue to become less and less applicable," the 16th report said.
"We note that the provisions will expire in two years unless renewed by the UK parliament. "We hope that they are fully reviewed before a decision is taken on renewal and that circumstances will then exist which would make it possible to align them more closely with the arrangements in other jurisdictions.
"If, as envisaged, criminal justice is by then devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, then we hope that the review will involve close consultation between the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice and the UK Government."
The IMC's latest report noted that, during the last six months of the British government's demilitarisation programme, pledges to demolish the remaining army observation posts and towers were honoured, the number of military bases in the North fell from 13 to seven with one more due to close at the end of this year, and helicopter flying hours were 31 per cent less than for the same period last year.
The report noted the Police Service of Northern Ireland continued to make progress in the changes to the police estate and in its engagement with the community.
"We think it is also important to record in this context that for the second year running the parades on July 12 were policed without the need for military assistance," they said.
The IMC also gave its assessment of republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. The commission said the Provisional IRA remained committed to a political path and there were no signs of it diverting from it.
Dissident republican terror groups continued to pose a threat but did not appear to have the capacity for a sustained campaign of violence. The loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force appeared to be starting to address the issue of weapons following its declaration of intent in May, to wind down.
The UVF significantly decreased its criminal and paramilitary activity and there had been a reduction in membership.
The Ulster Defence Association, however, still lagged behind other groups and was inhibited by internal disputes with no progress on arms decommissioning.
The Irish Government welcomed the growing shift towards a more normal policing environment in Northern Ireland.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said: "We have come a long way in a short time in terms of security normalisation."
He added: "All in all there has been a significant shift towards a more normal policing environment.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward welcomed the IMC's findings, saying the scaling back of the British army presence was yet more proof of the strides which had been taken by the province during the peace process.