Judgement has been reserved in a landmark challenge to the non-disclosure of legal advice which stalled controversial plans to erect Irish language signs at a south Belfast leisure centre.
A campaign group is appealing the decision to deny access to documentation on the decision taken by the City Council.
Conradh na Gaeilge claimed the tribunal involved witnesses speaking in Irish in a Belfast courtroom for the first time in centuries.
Dual-language signs were set to be put up at Olympia Leisure Centre, located off the Boucher Road and close to the mainly Protestant Village neighbourhood.
But the proposals were put on hold in 2022 following a successful call-in motion tabled by DUP representatives on the council.
Concerns about a possible adverse community impact were raised at the time.
The proposals for bilingual signage at the leisure centre have since been put out to public consultation.
Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is being challenged for upholding the council’s decision to deny its request for details on the legal opinion and material which determined that the test for the DUP’s call-in motion had been met.
In December 2022 the ICO concluded that an exemption for information protected by legal professional privilege outweighed the public interest in disclosure.
But Conradh na Gaeilge, a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language, insists that full transparency is required.
Backed by the Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS) Project and the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), the group mounted an appeal at a tribunal sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast.
Lawyers for the campaigners contended that the council cannot use legal privilege to stop public scrutiny of the legal process.
Four representatives from the Irish speaking community attended the hearing and introduced themselves in Irish.
In a statement, Conradh na Gaeilge claimed: “It is likely this is the first time witnesses have officially used Irish in courts in Belfast since the introduction of the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737″.
The law, which forbids the use of any language but English in court documentation or proceedings, has yet to be repealed.
Despite parliamentary moves to scrap the prohibition through the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, brought in by Westminster, the new statutory provisions have not been implemented.
The tribunal is expected to deliver judgment on the appeal next month.
Following the hearing, Conradh na Gaeilge insisted the disclosure sought through a Freedom of Information request should be made.
The group’s language rights co-ordinator, Cuisle Nic Liam, said outside court: “This legal opinion seriously impacts a community and, by refusing to release that information, Belfast City Council have precluded the public from seeing the criteria and rationale by which a decision was ultimately taken to reject bilingual signage.
“We believe, given the ongoing consultation into this issue, and the broader debate around language rights, that legal determination directing council policy should be transparent and open to scrutiny and challenge.
“We hope, through this tribunal, that we can return to a culture of openness and transparency, and that future legal determinations sought, and paid for by the council with rate-payers money, are made readily available to communities and citizens across the board.”