Long says she won't appeal sex offenders law court ruling
Justice Minister Naomi Long has said she will not appeal a High Court judgment over contentious sexual offender anonymity legislation.
Ms Long said she had considered the views of her ministerial colleagues who "do not share" her concerns over the "wider implications to the Assembly" of the ruling.
The Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims Act came into force in Northern Ireland last year.
It excludes the public from Crown Court rape cases and also provides anonymity for suspects in sexual offence cases up to the point of charge.
The legislation also set out that those not subsequently charged would have anonymity for their lifetime and for 25 years after their death.
Media organisations launched a legal challenge against some sections of the Act, amid concern over the impact on the reporting of sexual offence allegations.
An example given was that the legislation would have prevented the media from being able to report the allegations against disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile.
Last month, Mr Justice Humphreys struck down parts of the Act which he said were beyond Stormont's legislative competence.
He said the relevant sections were "not law" and failed to strike a fair balance between suspects' rights to privacy and press freedom.
Ms Long told the Assembly on Tuesday that she had sought the views of her Executive colleagues on appealing the judgment.
However, in an urgent written statement to the Assembly on Wednesday, the Justice Minister confirmed she would not appeal.
She said legal advice she has received said that the ruling could have a "substantial effect on Assembly processes for scrutinising its laws".
She added: "Specifically, the judgment imposes a high standard of rationality upon the reasoning in Assembly and Committee debates during the passage of the legislation.
"This is a finding which imposes a standard upon the legislative process which may be difficult to meet in practice and which often cannot be fully captured by Hansard or committee minutes."
She said she had raised the concerns raised in the legal advice with other Stormont ministers.
Ms Long added: "I have now had an opportunity to consider their responses which indicate that they do not share my concerns about the wider implications of the judgment.
"Given my only reason for considering an appeal was these wider implications to the Assembly, its departments and ministers, I have decided not to proceed with an appeal."