Clare Rice

Evidence to Bill of Rights Committee

PI’s Colin Murray and Clare Rice have submitted evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Ad-hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights. This evidence has been submitted in response to the Committee’s on-going call for evidence covering different perspectives on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

The Committee is also conducting an online survey [available here] to gather a range of views – the deadline for completing this is 29th January 2021.

In the meantime, Colin and Clare’s submission can be viewed here:

Bill of Rights Evidence Submission Download

NEW Article – ‘Beyond Trade: Implementing the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol’s Human Rights and Equalities Provisions’

PI’s Colin Murray and Clare Rice have shared a working version of their article on the topic of human rights, equality, and the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

The peer-reviewed paper, which will be published in its final form in the winter edition of Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly in early 2021, is available to download here.

Keep an eye on our Twitter account for updates on when the final article is published – @performidentity

Evidence submitted to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee: ‘Cross-border co-operation on policing, security and criminal justice after Brexit’ Inquiry

PI’s Colin Murray and Clare Rice have submitted evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee as part of the ‘Cross-border co-operation on policing, security and criminal justice after Brexit’ inquiry.

The submission considers key aspects of cross-border co-operation with particular reference to the potential challenges of Brexit for practicalities of this between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It also considers some specific challenges this is likely to present for policing, security and criminal justice on the island of Ireland and the potential difficulties this will create for Northern Ireland.

The full submission is available to view here:

NIAC Evidence – ‘Cross-border Cooperation’ – Oct 2020 Download

A Review of Politics in Northern Ireland

A presentation delivered by PI’s Clare Rice examining the last 12 months in Northern Ireland’s politics has been published on the website of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Service.

The presentation covers a number of key areas from the last year in Northern Ireland including the 2019 General Election, the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ deal, Brexit and management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The presentation was followed by a Q&A with questions submitted by A-Level Government and Politics teachers in Northern Ireland. This covered a range of matters, including future Assembly elections, Opposition and the NDNA agreement.

A recording of the full session and a copy of the slides used (with some additional reading suggestions) can be viewed here: https://education.niassembly.gov.uk/video-gallery/review-politics-northern-ireland_october-2020

Into the Unknown: Implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland

A new article from PI’s Colin Murray and Clare Rice has been published in the Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland.

The paper examines the UK’s approach to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement’s Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, focusing on pathologies of (mis)government and examining historical approaches to the management of trade between Great Britain and the island of Ireland.

The full journal is publicly available at this link, with Colin and Clare’s paper starting at pg. 17: http://crossborder.ie/site2015/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Final-Digital-Journal-Cross-Border-Studies.pdf

The UK’s Internal Market Bill

The Internal Market Bill has been a source of much debate since its publication earlier in September 2020. The PI team has been busy analysing this, in real time on the project’s Twitter feed (@performidenty) and in a number of written pieces.

Colin Murray responded to the initial leak of the IMB’s contents ahead of its publication in a piece for the UK in a Changing Europe (available here), while Clare Rice prepared a blog examining the implications of the IMB for Northern Ireland for the DCU Brexit Institute blog (available here).

A short briefing paper on key aspects of the IMB for Northern Ireland is also available to view here on our website.

Internal Market Bill

The publication of the Internal Market Bill (IMB) on 9th September 2020 sparked widespread concern about the UK’s commitment to upholding the Withdrawal Agreement reached in 2019.

This short summary provides some initial analysis of key aspects of the IMB relevant to Northern Ireland.

Our summary can be downloaded here:Download

For rolling analysis of developments and for updates on further output from the team on this, keep an eye on the PI Twitter account @performidentity

PI Panel at UACES 2020

The Performing Identities will (virtually) come together on Monday 7th September to lead a panel discussion at the UACES Virtual Conference 2020.

Initially planned to be happening in Belfast, the full conference has now moved to an online platform in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have planned a panel on the theme of Brexit and Northern Ireland, in which each member will outline some key aspects of the work being done within the Performing Identities project.

This will include the presentation of initial findings from interview-based research in Northern Ireland, and overviews of several forthcoming papers not yet in the public domain.

Central to our plans for the session is to provide a forum for informal discussion – on the work of the team, but also more generally on the topics being covered.

As a ‘non-traditional panel’ at the UACES conference, we had ambitious plans for this session in Belfast. While now proceeding in a virtual format, this remains a session not to be missed for anyone interested in Brexit and its impact in Northern Ireland!

Unfortunately, this panel is only open to registered participants of the conference, but we will be tweeting updates on the day from our account – @performidentity

Further details on the panel can be found here: https://www.conftool.org/uaces2020/index.php?page=browseSessions&form_session=180

Evidence submitted to the EU International Agreements Sub-Committee: Inquiry on Treaty Scrutiny

Colin Murray and Clare Rice have submitted evidence to the EU International Agreements Sub-Committee as part of the inquiry on Treaty Scrutiny. It outlines that post-Brexit, treaty scrutiny is going to matter more than ever in light of Northern Ireland’s position under the Protocol needing ongoing consideration. The submission focuses mainly on the role of the devolved institutions in this, and suggests some ways in which the scrutiny powers of the UK Parliament can be enhanced.

The full paper is available to download here:Download