A High Court ruling has thrown the Parades Commission into crisis after a determination on a long-running Orange Order parade dispute was quashed.

Mr Justice McAlinden criticised the commission for "sloppy procedures" and "shortcuts" in his decision on Tuesday. The case concerned the Drumcree parade in Portadown, which has been subject to restrictions since 1998.

The Parades Commission had banned this year's parade from the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road, continuing every decision made since 1998. The ban also applies to small weekly protest parades from the church that stop at a police line.

Legal disclosure in the case revealed that not all six commissioners had signed off on the final determination before it was issued, though they said all had agreed to impose restrictions. One commissioner, Billy Gamble, resigned on Thursday.

The commissioners earn a combined salary of about £180,000 a year for working one to two days per week. The commission conceded before a full hearing, so the court did not rule on wider grounds of the challenge, including a claim that dialogue between the Orange Order and residents was wrongly made a prerequisite for any parade.

Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has called the situation a priority issue. Unionist parties are united in calling for all commissioners to be replaced.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill visited Garvaghy Road within 24 hours of the court ruling and said residents are anxious about any parade.

The Orange Order has requested talks with residents, but those requests have been declined. Breandan Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition said talks would be pointless with a predetermined outcome and that it has been 28 years since the last march came down the road.

Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson said the Orange Order is open to mediation but would engage only to support its application to march. The focus, he said, has always been to bring their bannerette home from Drumcree in 1998.

A new parade application is imminent and will require a fresh decision that is procedurally watertight and withstands judicial tests. The Orange Order is buoyed by the court success and a march date in late September is being discussed.