‘Gay cake’ row: Supreme Court rules in favour of Ashers – BBC News
‘The Christian owners of a Northern Ireland bakery have won their appeal in the so-called “gay cake” discrimination case.’
BBC News, 10th October 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: Northern Ireland
Colin Murray: Brexit and the “Constitutional Integrity” of the United Kingdom – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The Foreign Office records regarding the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 must be amongst the most regularly requested papers held at the National Archives. One file, FO 608/65, is part of the herculean effort to redraw the map of Europe after the First World War. It recounts the efforts of officials and ministers to work out how to provide Poland with meaningful access to the Baltic. The focus of this attention was the port city of Danzig. The two options before the Council of Ten were to include the city as part of Poland, but place limits on how Poland exercised its national sovereignty over this part of its territory, or to create a “free city”, administered by a League of Nations High Commissioner, which was tied into a customs union with Poland. In late March 1919 Lloyd George expressed the UK’s support for the former option in the Council. Behind the scenes, however, the Foreign Office was preparing the alternate plans for a free city, which Lloyd George backed to decisive effect in April 1919. Concerns that this reversal might destabilise the fledgling Polish state were summarily dismissed.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th September 2018
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Supreme Court rules in favour of unmarried mother in benefits case – Family Law
‘The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Siobhan McLaughlin, an unmarried mother of four from County Antrim, gaining access to Widowed Parent’s Allowance following her partner’s death in 2014.’
Family Law, 31st August 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Landmark Judgment for Women’s Rights – Oxford Human Rights Hub
‘The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom concluded on the 7th June 2018 that Northern Ireland’s laws on termination of pregnancy are incompatible with human rights. More specifically, in situations of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality a majority of the judges concluded that the law breaches the right to private life protected by article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court highlighted the disproportionate nature of the interference, which stresses and humiliates women and girls experiencing a time of crisis. It further recognised the possibility that individual cases, in the three circumstances, may fall within the scope of article 3 and reach the threshold of severity required to be considered inhuman and degrading.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 14th June 2018
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
Law Pod UK Ep. 35: Lessons from Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough – 1 COR
‘Matthew Hill discusses the lessons and warnings from the Bloody Sunday inquiry and the Hillsborough inquest in this talk recorded at One Crown Office Row’s 2018 seminar.’
Law Pod UK, 14th June 2018
Source: audioboom.com
Shona Wilson Stark: In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Application for Judicial Review [2018] UKSC 27: A Declaration in All but Name? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘All eyes were on the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) last week as it gave judgment in In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s Application for Judicial Review [2018] UKSC 27, the case challenging the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) compatibility of Northern Ireland’s abortion legislation. Such a case is always bound to be headline-grabbing and controversial. But even more heat than usual was generated by this case. For starters, it followed swiftly after the Republic of Ireland’s referendum vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment of its Constitution, which acknowledges the equal right to life of the unborn child. That led to public and political pressure for change on the other side of the border too. But the Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since January 2017 and Westminster legislating in this area in its absence – particularly if prompted by the UKSC – would provoke controversy. The Conservative Government’s Confidence and Supply Agreement with the traditionally pro-life Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) further complicates the possibility of reform on this side of the Irish Sea. The outcome of a challenge to the compatibility of the Northern Ireland legislation was therefore keenly anticipated by many. In the event, a Court of seven declined (by a majority) to make the declaration of incompatibility due to a lack of standing. Given the Court’s conclusions, however, the judgment may effectively be a declaration in all but name.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 12th June 2018
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Supreme Court rules on challenge to abortion ban in Northern Ireland – UK Human Rights Blog
‘On 7th June 2018, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of regarding the controversial issue of the legal framework regulating abortion in Northern Ireland.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th June 2018
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Black lawyer accuses Northern Ireland immigration of racial profiling – The Guardian
‘The Equality Commission is investigating allegations of racial profiling by Northern Ireland immigration officials, brought by a black British lawyer on the eve of a key Brexit vote on border checks in the region.’
The Guardian, 11th June 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Northern Ireland’s abortion law violates human rights but challenge rejected on technical grounds, Supreme Court rules – The Independent
‘Supreme Court judges have said Northern Ireland’s abortion law violates human rights, but rejected a challenge brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIIHRC) on technical grounds.’
The Independent, 7th June 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Supreme Court to hear NI woman’s widow benefit case – BBC News
‘An unmarried mother from Northern Ireland who is fighting for access to a widowed parent’s allowance is to have her case heard by the Supreme Court.’
BBC News, 25th April 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
EU to publish first draft of Brexit treaty – BBC News
‘The European Union is set to publish a legal draft of its Brexit withdrawal agreement for the first time, detailing the terms of the UK’s departure.’
BBC News, 28th February 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Someone has to make a stand’: widow’s battle for cohabiting couples – The Guardian
‘Siobhan McLaughlin’s case goes before supreme court as pressure grows to end legal inequality.’
The Guardian, 27th January 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Crowdfunded high court challenge against £1bn Tory-DUP deal fails – The Guardian
‘A crowdfunded bid at the high court in London to challenge the government’s controversial parliamentary deal with the Democratic Unionist party has failed.’
The Guardian, 26th October 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Scotland and Wales begin formal dispute with UK Government over £1bn DUP deal – Daily Telegraph
‘The Scottish and Welsh governments have launched a formal dispute with Westminster over their demands for extra funding as a result of the Tory deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.’
Daily Telegraph, 19th July 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Law Pod UK Episode 5: Further ruling on NI abortion rights, Charlie Gard, and transgender in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community – 1 COR
‘Sarah Jane Ewart and Rosalind English discuss the latest developments in access to abortion for Northern Irish women, the lessons to be learned from the Charlie Gard case, and the difficult decision that the courts had to reach when considering the best interests of children in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family, where the father had left the community as a transgender person.’
Law Pod UK, 6th July 2017
Source: audioboom.com
May’s deal with DUP faces legal challenge from crowdfunding campaign – The Guardian
‘A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise funds for a potential legal challenge to Theresa May’s parliamentary deal with the Democratic Unionist party, on the grounds that it breaches the Good Friday agreement.’
The Guardian, 9th July 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Theresa May faces legal challenge over proposed deal with DUP – The Guardian
‘Theresa May is facing a landmark legal challenge over her proposed deal with the Democratic Unionist party on the grounds that it breaches the Good Friday agreement.’
The Guardian, 20th June 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Brexit: Butlins owner Peter Harris gets EU referendum fine – BBC News
‘Millionaire Butlins owner Peter Harris has been given the Electoral Commission’s biggest financial penalty for breaking spending return rules during the EU referendum.’
BBC News, 20th June 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
NI Abortion Refugees: further thoughts – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Was it unlawful for the Secretary of State for Health, who had power to make provisions for the functioning of the National Health Service in England, to have failed to make a provision which would have enabled women who were citizens of the UK, but who were usually resident in Northern Ireland, to undergo a termination of pregnancy under the NHS in England free of charge?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 15 June 2017
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Supreme court narrowly rejects Northern Ireland free abortions appeal – The Guardian
‘The supreme court has ruled that women from Northern Ireland are not entitled to free access to abortions on the NHS, a decision that was condemned by campaigners as a “further blow to women” from the region.’
The Guardian, 14th June 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
