Inside this issue: Belfast journalists reject recent attacks on media freedom. Experts provide commentary on the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill and the latest legacy proposals for Northern Ireland. We examine how one council’s ban on Irish street signage ended badly in court and highlight new research which shows Brexit may weaken human rights protections....
CAJ joins with eight other UK organisations to share concerns about proposed legislation. The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill would restrict freedom of expression and press freedom, threaten the protection of journalistic sources, and undermine academic research in Britain. It would limit the right to access information online and it would sneak in a new, harsh border regime for...
Working with Conradh na Gaeilge, we have produced a report documenting how commitments made by the UK government in relation to the Irish language have been put into practice by councils in Northern Ireland. Local councils have an important role to play in fulfilling state duties in relation to the Irish language. This is because...
The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill continues to progress through the UK Parliament. Our latest briefing note on the bill examines one particular area of concern: an additional border control power that could jeopardise the Common Travel Area (CTA) between the UK and Ireland. The Bill would extend the existing port and border control powers...
CAJ has lodged a formal complaint with the European Ombudsman in relation to rights in Northern Ireland after Brexit. We are concerned that previous promises to protect the rights of people in post-Brexit Northern Ireland are now at risk of being watered down. In December 2017, the EU and the UK produced a joint report...
Agents for Britain’s Security Service are authorised to commit serious crimes, on British soil, without informing prosecutors, under a secretive MI5 policy, a court heard today. Reprieve, Privacy International, the Pat Finucane Centre and CAJ are challenging the legality of the scheme before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London. The groups’ leading counsel, Ben Jaffey...
Mid Ulster Council has produced a comprehensive draft policy that seeks to address the environmental and social impacts of all bonfires held on council-owned property in the Mid Ulster area. The Council held a 13 week-long consultation on the policy across the summer, to which CAJ has responded. Our submission broadly welcomes the policy. We...
Brexit will have detrimental consequences for the peace process in Northern Ireland and will weaken human rights and equality protections, according to six interlinked reports unveiled by BrexitLawNI. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), BrexitLawNI is a research partnership between human rights experts from CAJ and researchers from the Schools of Law...
CAJ has criticised the decision taken by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today to refuse a request to re-examine the ‘Hooded Men’ case in its Grand Chamber. The case concerns the ‘interrogation in depth’ of the Hooded Men during their internment in 1971. While detained without charge or trial, these 14 men were...
It was confirmed before the High Court on Friday that Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has officially rescinded it’s ‘English-only’ policy for street signs. This policy was introduced in February 2018 after a request was made by Abbeyville Residents Association in Newtownabbey to have a small number of street signs in their area expressed in...
