Now this Letter to Mr Jim Allister MLA dtd 22 May 2013 from the Attorney General for Northern Ireland has just been released to Slugger, and it contains some interesting information.
It relates to a number of talking points and concerns raised about the competence of the bill itself and specific concerns that it could be in breach of Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
As the AG makes clear in his letter this does not relate to whether the law is a good law or not. That’s a political reserved to political parties involved. But it does mean objections on the grounds of retrospective criminalisation of acts and omissions provision in the ECHR are in his opinion ill founded.
Ms Travers has met with the SDLP leader this afternoon and has expressed herself more hopeful afterwards. With the Assembly in recess the SDLP Assembly group now has some time to reflect on its final decision over or not whether to launch a petition of concern.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty