McCabe & Anor, Re Application for Judicial Review [2026] NIKB 24 (27 May 2026)

Executive summary

The High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland heard a judicial review by Peter McCabe and Jeanitta McCabe challenging guidance issued by the Victims' Payments Board and two 19 December 2023 appeal-panel decisions refusing victims' payments. The dispute turned on whether the injuries from a 13 September 1990 masked-men attack at the McCabe home were caused by a 'Troubles-related incident' within the statutory scheme.

Key points

• Applicants: Peter McCabe and Jeanitta McCabe; respondent: the Victims' Payments Board.
• Challenge covered both Board guidance ('Information Note - Troubles Related Incidents and Paramilitary Style Attacks') and two appeal-panel refusals of payment.
• Core issue: whether the attack was a 'Troubles-related incident' under section 10(11) of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019.
• Guidance said vigilante-style attacks on persons engaged in or perceived as engaged in anti-social behaviour or crime should not per se count as TRIs.
• The court record states the Panel accepted the incident occurred as described; the contested question was the reason for the attack and eligibility under the Scheme.
• No sanctions, export-control, or national-security regime is addressed in the source text; the case is about victims' payments and statutory interpretation.

Why it matters

The judgment matters for how a Northern Ireland statutory victims scheme classifies violence linked to paramilitary activity, including attacks framed as community 'policing.' That classification can affect litigation over eligibility and the evidential threshold for linking harm to Troubles-era political or sectarian hostility.

Implications

For compliance and litigation strategy, the case underscores that Board guidance is intended to promote consistency but each application must still be decided on its own facts and the statutory definition of TRI. Parties challenging or defending eligibility decisions should focus on the stated reason or reasons for the violence, because the guidance rejects a speculative search for collateral consequences or broader paramilitary aims.