In Northern Ireland, abortion is regulated by outdated legislation, including Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act, 1861. Abortion is only lawful where necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman or where there is a risk of real and serious adverse effects on the woman’s physical or mental health,...
CAJ Director Brian Gormally appeared today before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality to discuss the issues and potential risks raised by Brexit in terms of human rights and equality in Ireland. Attending the same meeting were representatives of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) and the Irish Human Rights and Equality...
CAJ highlights another year spent promoting justice and protecting rights in our Annual Report 2018. It’s been an eventful twelve months for the CAJ team, not least because of the human rights implications of the UK’s impending exit from the EU. Introduction to the report: People in Northern Ireland are sometimes accused, not always unjustly,...
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....
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...
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...
Due to Brexit, plans have been made to redistribute the UK’s 73 MEP seats at the European Parliament. As a result, Ireland will gain an additional two seats. In preparation for this major change, an independent committee has been established by the Irish government to review the current MEP constituencies in Ireland. A period of...
A joint QUB/UU/CAJ team has published a detailed response to the latest proposals for addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has been seeking views on a draft legacy bill for Northern Ireland. If enacted, this bill would see the establishment of four new institutions for dealing with the past...
From a human rights perspective, there are numerous objections to the contents of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill 2018. The proposed bill also contains measures that could have worrying implications if applied to their full extent in Northern Ireland. The bill, which is currently making its way through the UK parliament, includes provisions that...
