New laws to help the families of missing persons

The Government has today introduced legislation to help the relatives of “the disappeared” and other missing persons.

The Presumption of Death Bill was introduced into the Assembly by the Finance Minister, Nigel Dodds OBE MP, MLA.  The Bill allows the High Court to declare that a missing person may be presumed dead and for the issuing of death certificates.

Welcoming the Bill’s introduction today, Nigel Dodds said:  “No-one wants to think about how they would cope if one of their family members was missing, presumed dead.  Quite apart from the sense of grief and loss there are the practical questions which will arise: can the death of the missing person be registered?  What happens to the family home?  Will insurance policies be paid?

“Unfortunately there has been no easy answer to these questions because existing court procedures do not allow a judge to deal with all the legal issues arising from a presumed death.”

The legislation introduced in the Assembly today will help the families of missing people answer some of the questions. The Bill allows family members and others to apply to the High Court for a declaration that the missing person may be presumed to be dead if he or she is thought to have died or has been missing for more than seven years. The Court order will lead to the missing person’s presumed death being registered and a death certificate made available to the families.

Acknowledging that the Bill cannot compensate for the fact that the missing person’s body remains undiscovered the Minister commented:

“I know that for the families of the disappeared and other missing persons that this Bill cannot make up for the loss of a loved one, or the continuing anguish which comes from a body not being recovered for burial or cremation.  I hope, however, that it will help them to address some of their concerns and the problems they may encounter.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Presumption of Death Bill and Explanatory and Financial Memorandum are available from the Northern Ireland Assembly website
2. On 23^rd January 2008 the Department of Finance and Personnel published for consultation a draft Presumption of Death Bill addressing the concerns of the families of “the disappeared” to have their deaths registered and death certificates issued. A summary of the responses to that consultation can be found at the DFP website .
3. The majority of people who are reported missing each year return home within 72 hours. There are no figures available to indicate how many people go missing each year in Northern Ireland who never return home or otherwise make contact with their families or friends and who may be presumed dead.  However, figures released by the Northern Ireland Office state that as of early November 2008 there were 68 people listed as missing from Northern Ireland (Hansard Written Answer 31^st March 2008).
4. Under the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 a death can generally be registered only if a body is found in Northern Ireland and a cause of death can be established.
5. The new legislation for Northern Ireland is modelled on the Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1977. Under the Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act around 30 declarations of presumed death have been made since 2000.
6. Further information about the Bill is available from: Mr Neil Lamb,Civil Law Reform Division Departmental Solicitor’s Office, Department of Finance and Personnel, Victoria Hall, 12 May Street, Belfast BT1 4NL, Tel: 02890 521521Fax: 02890 521240.