The widow of an ex-IRA man beaten to death after his prison release has lost her appeal against being denied compensation.
Anne-Marie McCallion, whose husband Peter was jailed for an ambush on British troops in Londonderry, was seeking to overturn the Secretary of State's decision to refuse her a discretionary pay-out.
She was denied access to the criminal injuries compensation scheme because of the seriousness of his crimes.
Mr McCallion, a Derry man, served an 18-year sentence for attempted murder, weapons offences and membership of the IRA.
He was involved in a gun attack on troops from the Queen's Regiment during a patrol at Racecourse Road in the city in August 1978. One soldier was wounded in the ambush.
Following his release from prison there was no evidence that he maintained any paramilitary links, but in December 1998 he was fatally injured, at the age of 40, during a confrontation in the city.
A recommendation that making a payment to his widow under the criminal injuries compensation arrangements would not be in the public interest was accepted by a Government minister on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Mrs McCallion went before the Court of Appeal after she and her children failed four times to judicially review that decision.
Their case centred on an argument that the refusal breached UN Convention on the Rights of the Child protections against discrimination or punishment based on a parent's activities.
It has also been contended that the Secretary of State has never properly given reasons for his decision.
Lawyers for Mrs McCallion pointed to a previous ruling which indicated refusal was arguably a breach of the Convention.
Earlier this year a High Court judge dismissed the case by declaring he was not satisfied that the domestic court can interpret an international treaty.
And his ruling was upheld by the three-judge panel sitting in the Court of Appeal.
Lord Justice Girvan stressed that the court could not go behind the Minister's conclusion that the Convention was not being broken in such a way to show the United Kingdom was acting incompatibly with its treaty obligations.
He said: "A live question arises as to whether a claim by dependent children is entirely dependent on the rights which the deceased would have had but for his supervening death.
"If so, no question of discrimination against the children would arise."
© UTV News