Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain is considering appealing yesterday's Belfast High Court ruling that he acted unlawfully in appointing two leading Orangemen, David Burrows and Don McKay, to the seven-member Parades Commission.
Mr Justice Morgan said the appointments of the two Orangemen failed to meet the requirement that the commission represent both sides of the community.
He found the failure of the appointment panel to recognise a potential conflict of interest was "inexplicable". The judge, however, said there was no reason why Mr Burrows could not apply again.
The judgment marked a bad week for Mr Hain in relation to the operations of the commission, which is now down to five members, as the contentious marching season looms.
Earlier in the week, Mr Hain rounded on the SDLP in particular for mounting a campaign against Mr McKay and Mr Burrows. He contended that having Orangemen on the commission was designed to find a solution to the parades issue, and should at least be tested by nationalists as to whether it might work.
But not only was Mr McKay forced to resign this week in the wake of a row over references, but now the High Court has ruled that Mr Burrows, a former senior Portadown Orangeman at the centre of the annual Drumcree disputes, can no longer serve on the body.
Mr Hain and his senior advisers were yesterday consulting lawyers about what to do next. Under the ruling, Mr Burrows could be reappointed, but to maintain community balance it would seem that someone from the nationalist community, possibly from a nationalist residents' group, would also have to be appointed.
Mr Hain said he was extremely disappointed by the decision. "The appointments were made in good faith. The new commission has been very successful at beginning to build trust and confidence. I am taking legal advice on whether to appeal the judgment," he said.
Mr Hain believes that Mr Burrows has acted fairly and done good work on the commission. It is understood that he is predisposed to reappointing him to the commission if he does not first challenge the judgment. He said it was absolutely clear from the ruling that there was "no automatic conflict of interest between being an Orangeman and being on the Parades Commission".
SDLP Upper Bann Assembly member Dolores Kelly said the judgment vindicated her party's stance on the issue.
"This whole debacle has been the Northern Ireland Office's fault and this ruling shows that they acted unlawfully. Instead of facing up to and rectifying their actions they preferred to lash out at the SDLP and create more problems for themselves," Ms Kelly added.
Upper Bann Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd said Mr Hain's "arrogant approach had undermined public confidence" in the commission.
Breandán MacCionnaith of the Portadown Garvaghy Road Residents group, which challenged the appointments, said the commission was now "contaminated". He said the commission must be independent and neither Orangemen nor nationalist residents' representatives should be members of it.
