"Covid vaccine passports" introduced in Northern Ireland during the pandemic were lawful, judges have ruled.
In November 2021, the Stormont Executive brought in the certification scheme in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. Belfast man Risteard O'Murchú and Darren Williams, from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, brought separate challenges over the lawfulness of the scheme. Mr Williams claimed there was a breach of data protection in how confidential personal information was obtained through scanning customer's QR codes.Even though the passports are no longer required, appeals were mounted against that decision.Image caption,Ruling on the cases, Lord Justice Treacy said there had been, unarguably, a legitimate aim behind the scheme which was backed by the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser.