This is an update to the response submitted by the authors for the 2016 inquiry on the same topic – it has been updated in light of developments within the UK and the EU and in terms of the focus of the inquiry.
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On this page, you will find all the work we are doing relating to governance issues specific to Northern Ireland in the 21st century. Brexit contributes to the current issues in NI governance, but other governance matters - UK-specific or Northern Ireland-specific - are relatively independent of Brexit issues and instead are the consequence of multilevel governance.
The Common Travel Area: Prospects After Brexit.
Maintaining the Common Travel Area that has existed between the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man has been set down by the UK Prime Minister as one of her government’s 12 key negotiating objectives. In this note, some of the functions of the CTA are described, and the possible threats to it from Brexit are explored. It is concluded that the flexibility and informality of the CTA means that while maintaining it in name is relatively easy, changes to its substance are likely. Close scruntiny of any changes to the reciprocal nature and substantive provisions of the CTA are therefore essential to assessing the success of this aspect of the UK government’s negotiations.
“There is no appetite for the return of the fortified border posts which were so emblematic of the Troubles. However, in choosing their words carefully, ministers have sought to reassure the Northern Irish public on the most extreme outcome (the hard border) while neglecting to address the other possible day-to-day impacts which Brexit will have on the island of Ireland.”
The Implications of the Good Friday Agreement for UK Human-Rights Reform.
Speculation is rife as to the impact of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement upon the Conservative Government’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. In the face of this speculation, the UK’s Conservative Government has provided little detail as to how UK human-rights reform will address the requirement for incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Northern Ireland settlement. We therefore analyse the Agreement as both an international treaty and peace agreement and evaluate its interrelationship with the Human Rights Act and the Northern Ireland Act. Once the hyperbole surrounding the Agreement and its attendant domestic legislation is stripped away, the effects of the 1998 settlement are in some regards more extensive than has to date been recognised, but in other respects are less far-reaching than some of the Human Rights Act’s supporters claim. The picture that emerges from our analysis is of an intricately woven constitution dependent on devolution arrangements, peace agreements, and international relationships.
Written Evidence: ‘Future of the Land Border with the Republic of Ireland’ Inquiry.
Response to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee regarding the ‘Future of the Land Border with the Republic of Ireland’ Inquiry, submitted in November 2016.
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Brexit-ing Northern Ireland: The challenges Ahead.
Post on the Oxford Business Law Blog by Dr. Sylvia de Mars, Mr. Colin Murray, Prof. Aoife O’Donoghue and Dr. Ben Warwick, discussing how Brexit might affect trade and travel and significantly, peace and prosperity, across the Irish border
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A house of cards?
Blog post on UK Constitutional Law Blog by Mr. Colin Murray and Prof. Roger Masterman.
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Ireland faces partition again. Preserving the peace is critical.
Emer O’Toole’s opinion in the Guardian discussing the reinstatement of a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following Brexit with reference to the Policy Paper on Brexit, Ireland and Northern Ireland written by Dr. Sylvia de Mars, Mr. Colin Murray, Prof. Aoife O’Donoghue and Dr. Ben Warwick.
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How the EU played a key role in smoothing relations between London and Dublin.
Mr. Colin Murray in the Conversation discussing the role of the EU in the Peace Process.
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Policy Paper: Brexit, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
There are many very specific ‘Irish’ dimensions to current political debates surrounding potential ‘Brexit’ which are not being addressed in detail (if at all) by the Leave and Remain campaigns. This policy paper aims to shed light on these aspects of Brexit, so as to inform interested voters. The paper also engages directly with policy makers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, so as to ensure that future negotiations with Westminster and/or Brussels regarding both the EU referendum take full account of the specific ways in which their jurisdictions will be affected by the changes.
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