Sinn Fein's legal action to prevent its exclusion from the Northern Ireland negotiations will not proceed, the President of the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Adrian Hardiman SC, for Sinn Fein, informed Mr Justice Morris that the case was moot in the light of developments outside and the statement of the two governments announcing the party's exclusion from the talks. He said the case would not continue and no order would be required.
The abrupt end to the proceedings came three days after they started.
Sinn Fein had sought, in an action against the three independent chairmen of the Northern talks and the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, orders preventing the party's exclusion on the grounds of Dr Mowlam's assertion that the party had demonstrably dishonoured the Mitchell Principles.
The Attorney General had intervened in the proceedings to submit the matter arose out of an entirely political controversy and was not justiciable by the courts.
It was submitted on behalf of the talks chairmen that they were not amenable to the court while counsel for Dr Mowlam pleaded foreign sovereign immunity in her case.
Yesterday Mr Hardiman responded to those submissions and rejected all the arguments advanced.
He argued the matter was justiciable on the grounds that the courts could intervene in decisions of the executive connected with foreign policy when those decisions affect an individual's constitutional rights.
He also argued the doctrine of sovereign immunity did not apply because what was involved in the proposed exclusion of Sinn Fein were the private rights of the 17 Sinn Fein delegates.
The judge asked Mr Hardiman, in the light of the Northern talks having moved to Belfast, to deal with the issue of enforcing any court order. Mr Hardiman said Senator George Mitchell had indicated to Sinn Fein that if a court compelled action, Mr Mitchell would comply.
At that stage, about 12.20 p.m., Mr Hardiman told the court Sinn Fein had been asked to meet Dr Mowlam at Stormont. The hearing was adjourned and just before 4 p.m., Mr Hardiman said the case was moot and would not proceed.
