Formerly Professor of Law at the University of Ulster, he became the first Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) on its establishment in 1999, serving two three-year terms.
He was a key figure related to the Holy Cross dispute in which Loyalists sought to blockade a Catholic primary school in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast.
[2] At a meeting with the Commission on 25 October 2001 the Chief Constable of the RUC, Ronnie Flanagan, assured Commissioners that everything the police were doing operationally was driven by what was in the best interests of the children attending Holy Cross school.
[3] The letter was disclosed to the other Commissioners at the time but was later referred to in correspondence from the Chief Constable to Brice Dickson when he wrote stating he would make the letter public in the course of the legal proceedings and "very strongly urge[d] the Commission to review its funding decision" and "strongly" maintained that it was inappropriate for the Commission to continue to commit public funds to this litigation.
Lady Hale, a future President of the Supreme Court and well known for her enthusiasm for protecting children's rights, agreed with Lord Carswell and said (at para 14): 'Hindsight is a wonderful thing and no doubt the police have learned lessons from this whole experience.