Judge rejects legal bid to remove Palestine flag flying on Belfast City Hall

A Sinn Fein motion to raise the flag was passed by 32 votes to 28 on Monday evening

A judge has rejected a legal bid to remove a Palestinian flag that has been erected on Belfast City Hall.

The flag was raised after midnight on Tuesday after councillors voted for the move during a meeting on Monday evening. It was due to fly for one day.

The decision prompted a legal challenge, with judge Mr Justice Michael Humphreys hearing arguments in Belfast High Court on Tuesday.

The applicant had sought an interim injunction that would have required the flag to be taken down pending a fuller court hearing on whether the council followed correct procedures in how the vote was held.

The applicant argued that the vote should have required a qualified majority, requiring 80% of councillors to approve a decision, rather than a straight majority.

A Sinn Fein motion to raise the flag was passed by 32 votes to 28 on Monday evening.

The council voted by a larger majority last month to fly the flag on City Hall on November 29 to mark the UN international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

However, that did not occur after the council received legal advice following a unionist move to initiate a call-in mechanism for the proposal to be reconsidered.

Delivering his ruling on interim relief on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Humphreys made clear he was not adjudicating on the substantive legal arguments around whether the council had followed proper procedures around the call-in.

He said he was instead focused on the application for the flag to be taken down pending the fuller hearing. The applicant also sought to prevent the council interpreting a call-in in a similar way until the matter is resolved in the courts.

Judge Humphreys said he had to balance against the “danger” of the courts “usurping” the council’s ability to make decision against any potential harm or prejudice caused to the applicant by the flag flying.

The judge noted that the applicant was on holiday and questioned how the flying of a flag in Belfast would offend her. He said there was also no substantiated evidence to show the council’s continued use of its call-in procedure would cause her harm.

Justice Humphreys said his balancing considerations came down “firmly in favour” of the decision making council.

“The application for interim relief is therefore refused both in relation to the continued flying of the flag at Belfast City Hall and also more broadly into the use by the city council of its current procedures in respect of the call-in procedure,” he said.

The wider case is set to be heard by another judge. The next hearing is listed for Friday.

During Monday’s council meeting, an Alliance Party amendment proposing illuminating the City Hall in the colours of Palestine in January instead of raising the flag was defeated by 49 votes to 11.

While Sinn Fein welcomed the outcome of the vote to fly the flag, unionists expressed anger.

The DUP and TUV both accused the council of an abuse of process.