The Commission guarantees that any information given to it or its agents will be treated as absolutely confidential and will be used solely for the purpose of locating victims’ remains.

The operation of the ICLVR is covered in the United Kingdom by the Northern Ireland (Location of Victims’ Remains) Act, 1999 and in Ireland by the Criminal Justice (Location of Victims’ Remains) Act, 1999. These Acts provide for three types of protection for information provided to the Commission or its agents about the whereabouts of the remains of victims of violence (and for any evidence which is obtained as a result):

  • First, the Acts make such information and evidence inadmissible in criminal proceedings (Section 3 of the UK Act and Section 5 of the Irish Act).

  • Second, they place restrictions on the forensic testing of human remains and other items found as a result of the provision of information to the Commission (Section 4 of the UK Act and Section 5 of the Irish Act).

  • Third, they restrict the disclosure of information provided to the Commission (Section 5 of the UK Act and Section 6 of the Irish Act). Information provided to the Commission shall not be disclosed to any person except for the purpose of facilitating the location of the remains to which the information relates.

The Commission may inform a victim’s family that information has been received and the place where, according to the information, the victim’s remains may be found. The Commission may not disclose the identity of an informant nor any information likely to lead to the identification of an informant.