Category: Northern Ireland

Liz Truss: The New Prime Minister’s Human Rights Record – Each Other

Posted September 6th, 2022 in asylum, bills, brexit, environmental protection, equality, human rights, immigration, news, Northern Ireland by sally

‘Liz Truss has just been voted by Conservative peers and members to be the next prime minister. The former secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs has a track record of voting against human rights progression in the UK and as prime minister will be involved in policy decisions that will radically change rights protections. The first targets? Replacing the Human Rights Act (HRA) with a Bill of Rights and potentially withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.’

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Each Other, 5th September 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Is The Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Bill ‘Fatally’ Flawed? – Each Other

Posted August 10th, 2022 in bills, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, terrorism, unlawful killing by sally

‘Human rights and civil liberty groups have criticised the government’s proposals to grant an effective amnesty for crimes committed as part of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The ‘Troubles’ is a term used to describe a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted over 30 years, up until the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill attempts to address more than 1,000 unsolved killings. Now, rights groups have said the Bill violates the UK’s human rights obligations.’

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Each Other, 10th August 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

EU launches fresh legal action over Northern Ireland border rules – BBC News

Posted July 22nd, 2022 in bills, brexit, EC law, government departments, news, Northern Ireland by tracey

‘The EU has launched fresh legal action against the UK over its enforcement of post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.’

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BBC News, 22nd July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Guildford pub bomb inquest: Device could have been planted by a ‘courting couple’ – BBC News

Posted July 22nd, 2022 in armed forces, coroners, explosives, inquests, news, Northern Ireland, terrorism, unlawful killing by tracey

‘Five people were unlawfully killed by an IRA bomb in Guildford in 1974 which could have been planted by a “courting couple”, a coroner concluded.’

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BBC News, 21st July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Kirsty Hughes: The Bill of Rights and the Precarity of Abortion Rights – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 12th, 2022 in abortion, bills, human rights, news, Northern Ireland by tracey

‘In the aftermath of the US Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization attention has turned to whether abortion is adequately protected in the UK from the winds of political change. Given that in England, Scotland, and Wales abortion is provided for by ordinary Act of Parliament, and in Northern Ireland by Regulation, an orthodox view of the constitution indicates that it is not. In response to Dobbs it has been suggested that the pending Bill of Rights should be amended to provide for a right to abortion. That proposal was swiftly rejected by Dominic Raab on the basis that abortion is settled in UK law – a view that is somewhat contradicted by ongoing difficulties in respect of abortion in Northern Ireland.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 11th July 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

What happens when a devolved bill is referred to the UK Supreme Court? – House of Commons Library

Posted July 5th, 2022 in abortion, bills, devolution issues, news, Northern Ireland, Supreme Court by tracey

‘The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill (Northern Ireland) has been referred to the UK Supreme Court. We explain why, and how a bill reference works.’

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House of Commons Library , 4th July 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Research Briefing: Northern Ireland Protocol – House of Commons Library

Posted June 27th, 2022 in bills, brexit, EC law, government departments, international law, news, Northern Ireland by tracey

‘Briefings on the Northern Ireland Protocol, including on EU-UK negotiations, Article 16, international law, and information on the UK Government announcement to change the Protocol through the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.’

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House of Commons Library , 26th June 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Ronan Cormacain: Does the Vienna Convention provide a legal off-ramp for unilaterally changing the Northern Ireland Protocol? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted June 15th, 2022 in brexit, constitutional law, EC law, government departments, international law, news, Northern Ireland by sally

‘The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, designed to set out the legal parameters of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The Government proposes to introduce legislation to unilaterally change the Protocol. On the face of it, this would appear to place the Government on the highway to a breach of international law. But are there any off-ramps which allow it to avoid this destination? This blog post examines one possible off-ramp, that this course of action is consistent with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 13th June 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Sir Jonathan Jones QC (Hon): The Northern Ireland Protocol, International Law and the Attorney General – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted May 30th, 2022 in attorney general, brexit, constitutional law, international law, news, Northern Ireland by sally

‘The Times recently (11 May 2022) reported that the Attorney General, Suella Braverman, had received, and given, legal advice to the effect that proposed government action in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol was compatible with international law. As I write, we have still not seen details of either the proposals or the legal arguments on which the government intends to rely. What is going on?’

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UK Constitutional Law Associaiton, 30th May 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

New Judgment: R v Maughan (Northern Ireland) [2022] UKSC 13 – UKSC Blog

Posted May 20th, 2022 in appeals, burglary, guilty pleas, news, Northern Ireland, sentencing, Supreme Court by sally

‘This appeal concerns the discount which convicted criminals in Northern Ireland are entitled to when they are sentenced.’

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UKSC Blog, 18th May 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Court upholds ruling that Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful – The Independent

Posted March 15th, 2022 in appeals, brexit, international trade, news, Northern Ireland by tracey

‘The Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful, the Court of Appeal in Belfast has upheld. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the legal challenge will now go to the Supreme Court.’

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The Independent, 14th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Gay marriage-cake case declared inadmissible by Strasbourg Court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 10th, 2022 in appeals, Christianity, food, freedom of expression, homosexuality, news, Northern Ireland, references to European Court, sexual orientation discrimination by tracey

‘Lee v. the United Kingdom (application no. 18860/19). The European Court of Human Rights has, by a majority, declared the application inadmissible. The decision is final.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

One date to rule them all: McQuillan, McGuigan and McKenna [2021] UKSC 55 – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 10th, 2022 in appeals, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, Supreme Court, torture by tracey

‘In one of its final decisions of 2021, McQuillan, McGuigan and McKenna, the UK Supreme Court addressed challenges to the effectiveness of police investigations into events which took place during the Northern Ireland conflict. The European Court has long maintained that the right to life (Article 2 ECHR) and the prohibition upon torture and inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3 ECHR) carry with them positive obligations on the state to conduct effective investigations. These “legacy” cases not only draw the Courts into debates over some of the most contentious aspects of the Northern Ireland conflict, in particular the involvement of state agents in killings and the infliction of serious harms upon individuals, but they also pose questions about how human rights law applied in the context of Northern Ireland as a jurisdiction before the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘Gay cake’ row: man loses seven-year battle against Belfast bakery – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2022 in appeals, Christianity, equality, food, freedom of expression, homosexuality, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, references to European Court, sexual orientation discrimination by tracey

‘ECHR says Gareth Lee’s case against bakery that refused to make cake with ‘support gay marriage’ message is inadmissible.’

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The Guardian, 6th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ashers ‘gay cake’ case: European court rules case inadmissible – BBC News

Posted January 7th, 2022 in appeals, Christianity, food, homosexuality, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, references to European Court, sexual orientation discrimination by michael

‘A gay rights activist has lost a seven-year discrimination dispute over a cake order as the European Court of Human Rights ruled his case inadmissible.’

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BBC News, 6th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The investigative duty and ‘historic’ allegations – when is the duty engaged? – UK Police Law Blog

Posted December 21st, 2021 in appeals, armed forces, human rights, judicial review, news, Northern Ireland, police, statutory duty, unlawful killing by sally

‘In the same week that Dominic Raab unveiled his proposals for a new Bill of Rights, Parliament’s intent when it enacted the existing human rights framework has also been the subject of scrutiny by the Supreme Court. In the matter of an application by Margaret McQuillan for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) (Nos 1, 2 and 3) [2021] UKSC 55, the Court has provided guidance on three key matters: the extent to which the investigative duty under articles 2/3 of the European Convention of Human Rights is engaged in pre-commencement deaths (the ‘Temporal Scope Issue’); when new evidence revives the investigative obligation (the ‘Brecknell Issue’); and how courts assess the independence of investigations (the ‘Independence Issue’).’

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UK Police Law Blog, 20th December 2021

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Supreme Court to rule on investigation into ‘hooded men’ case – The Independent

Posted December 15th, 2021 in appeals, armed forces, news, Northern Ireland, Supreme Court, torture by tracey

‘The Supreme Court in London will rule later on whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland is sufficiently independent to carry out an investigation into the case of the “hooded men”.’

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The Independent, 15th December 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ban on Troubles prosecutions ‘legally dubious and morally corrupt’, says Hain – The Independent

Posted November 30th, 2021 in bills, homicide, inquests, news, Northern Ireland, prosecutions by tracey

‘Controversial plans to ban prosecutions for Troubles murders are “legally dubious, constitutionally dangerous and morally corrupt”, a former Northern Ireland secretary has said.’

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The Independent, 29th November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Rehabilitation and retribution: In re JR123’s application – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 15th, 2021 in arson, bills, burglary, criminal justice, criminal records, explosives, human rights, imprisonment, judicial review, news, Northern Ireland, proportionality, rehabilitation, sentencing, theft by tracey

‘What happens when someone is convicted of a criminal offence and is given a custodial sentence? Sometimes, the individual will serve at least part of their sentence in prison and the remainder on licence. But, what happens after they’ve served the totality of their sentence?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12rh November 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Racial discrimination on Northern Circuit “legitimised by silence” – Legal Futures

Posted November 15th, 2021 in barristers, diversity, equality, news, Northern Ireland, race discrimination, racism, statistics by tracey

‘More than half of ethnic minority barristers on the Northern Circuit have experienced racial discrimination at the Bar, legitimised by the “silence and inaction” of others, research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 15th November 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk