Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has secured High Court permission to challenge a block on proposals to fly the Union flag permanently at war memorials in Ards and North Down.
Mr Bryson alleges the local council acted unlawfully after some elected representatives called in the policy decision for reconsideration.
A judge on Friday granted him leave to seek a judicial review amid claims the requisition was made out of time and failed to specify any potential negative consequences of the flag being flown all year round at cenotaphs across the borough.
Mr Justice Humphreys held: “In particular, it can be argued that the reasons given do not specify ‘the nature and extent of the adverse impact’ but rather call for speculation as to what the impact may be in the future.”
Ards and North Down Borough Council originally passed the flag motion proposed by unionists in December last year.
But in early January, the chief executive allowed a call-in requisition - a method used to reconsider decisions which could have a disproportionate adverse impact on any section of the community.
Under the terms of the mechanism, an 80% super-majority is required for the original proposal to be successfully passed again.
In April, another vote on the original motion failed to meet that standard.
Mr Bryson, who lives in the borough and represented himself, described himself as “passionate about the expression of British identity in Northern Ireland, particularly with regard to...commemoration of those who died in the World Wars”.
He argued that the requisition should have been rejected because there was no proof of any adverse impact.
The court heard unnamed councillors behind the call-in expressed concerns that it could affect those from Catholic, nationalist or republican backgrounds, and those who identify themselves as “others”.
Mr Bryson insisted that suppositions made about possible community harm did not meet the statutory test for allowing a call-in.
Ruling on the challenge, Mr Justice Humphreys said references to the risk of an adverse impact on the district arguably may not meet the requirements under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.
He also held that Mr Bryson had cleared a preliminary hurdle in his further claims that the requisition should have been rejected because the chief executive received it 47 minutes past a legislative cut-off point.
The legal challenge is expected to be heard at the High Court early next year.
