High Court upholds Garvaghy Road parade prohibition
The court dismissed the challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision, finding the prohibition lawful. The ruling concerns public safety and assembly rights.
The High Court in Belfast has dismissed a legal challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision to prohibit an Orange Order procession along Garvaghy Road.
Mr Justice Scoffield delivered the ruling on Wednesday, 28 October.
The case concerned a procession originally permitted with conditions by the Parades Commission on 25 September. It did not proceed two days later after police assessed that it could not safely pass a substantial protest blocking the route.
According to the published judicial summary, the court found that the authorities had taken appropriate steps to facilitate the procession, including policing measures and negotiations.
The judge accepted that lodge members had enjoyed a legal right to undertake the notified procession. However, he concluded that the Secretary of State could lawfully prohibit it in the public interest.
The court refused permission to pursue several grounds and dismissed the substantive challenge on the limited grounds allowed to proceed.
The ruling concerns the legality of those decisions, rather than a criminal verdict.
Judgment delivered 28 October 2026
Judiciary NI — official summary ↗Court, date, procedural stage and outcome checked against the official judicial summary.