The High Court in Belfast has dismissed a judicial review challenge to the Secretary of State's decision to prohibit an Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

Mr Justice Scoffield ruled that the decision was lawful and within the margin of discretion afforded to the Secretary of State. The challenge was brought by Alan Hynes, a member of Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge No. 1, following the Parades Commission's determination on 25 September 2026 allowing the procession with conditions.

The procession did not take place on 27 September because the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assessed it could not be facilitated safely due to a substantial protest obstructing the route. The Chief Constable subsequently applied for a review of the determination under section 9 of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998, and the Secretary of State made an order under section 11 prohibiting the procession.

The court found that the police had mounted a substantial operation to facilitate the parade, but all lawful and proportionate options had been exhausted. Any remaining option would have required a major public order intervention carrying an unacceptable risk of serious injury and wider disorder.

The judge rejected arguments that the Chief Constable took into account irrelevant considerations, that the Secretary of State acted unlawfully in concluding the determination could no longer be given effect, and that the decisions were irrational. He also held that the state's positive obligations under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been discharged.

Mr Justice Scoffield stated that the applicant and other Lodge members had a legal right to process along the Garvaghy Road, and that right had been thwarted by a significant protest. However, the rights of others and the public interest justified the prohibition order.

In dismissing the application, the judge said: "Whatever one's standing or strength of conviction, the law does not apply only when you agree with it or with the outcome of a particular legal process." He added that divisions in society enhance the need for respect for the rule of law and the decisions of legal mechanisms established to resolve deep-seated disputes.