Habits of Mind and ‘Truth Telling’: Article 2 ECHR in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland

Abstract

This chapter evaluates the impact that habits of mind in British constitutional law have had on processes of truth telling in Northern Ireland. It suggests that article 2 of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) illustrates how core precepts of the British constitution can be of questionable value in the Northern Ireland polity and that the process of truth telling remains ill-defined and incomplete. However, it is not clear whether the habits of mind in British constitutional law will continue to retard the process of transition in Northern Ireland.