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 2020Download

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

Business as Usual? The Common Travel Area in the Era of COVID-19

PI’s Colin Murray has recently had an article published examining the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Common Travel Area arrangements.

In short, if information sharing is proving difficult to operationalise under the umbrella of EU law, it will be impossible to achieve if provision is not made for its replacement. 

Colin Murray

The article was published on the blog of the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance, and is available to read here in full.

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.

Follow us @performidentity for all our latest updates and analysis

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

NEW: ‘EU Law in the UK’

We are delighted to share that PI team member, Sylvia de Mars, has published a new book.

‘EU Law in the UK’ is the first textbook to be published in the field since Brexit. It examines the institutional and substantive elements of EU law, considering them in terms of Brexit and the potential implications of this for UK law.

“It takes a uniquely contextual approach designed to enliven the learning experience, support understanding, and help students appreciate the relevance and impact of EU law.”

Oxford University Press

A phenomenal achievement in the context of the fast pace of change over recent years. Congratulations, Sylvia!

Copies of the book can be purchased online here or from most book retailers.

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