REFERENCE by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland - Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Northern Ireland) Bill

The Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a provision of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Northern Ireland) Bill, which makes it an offence to influence a person within a safe access zone with the intent of influencing them to not seek an abortion, would be outside the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The court found that the provision was not outside the legislative competence of the Assembly as it was not a disproportionate interference with the Convention rights of those who seek to express opposition to the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland. The court held that the ingredients of the offence itself ensured the proportionality of a conviction, and that the provision was a justifiable restriction on the exercise of Convention rights. The court rejected the argument that a proportionality assessment must always be made on the facts of the individual case, and that the absence of a lawful or reasonable excuse in the definition of the offence was necessary for a conviction to be compatible with the Convention rights. The court concluded that the right of women in Northern Ireland to access abortion services should not be obstructed or impaired by the accommodation of claims by opponents of the legislation based on the liberal values protected by the Convention.