Civil society groups, including CAJ, warn UK government not to threaten Good Friday Agreement through Internal Market Bill. Representatives from a wide range of civil society groups met with officials from the UK Government on Friday (18 September 2020) and registered our strong protest at the terms of the Internal Market Bill, which directly breaches...

In a letter to MPs and Peers, civil society organisations, including CAJ, warn of their “serious concerns” about the Internal Market Bill. The letter, with signatories including the Pesticide Action Network UK and UNISON, warns that the proposed internal market rules pose a threat to the devolution settlements, the rule of law and the UK’s...

Civil society organisations in Northern Ireland have warned against the peace process and the rights of Northern Irish people being used as a bargaining chip in the latest round of negotiations on the trade deal between the UK and the EU. Alarm bells were set off when the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis...

CAJ notes the appointment of six new Commissioners to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), who each took up office on 1 September 2020. CAJ hopes they will demonstrate their firm commitment to upholding international human rights standards under the leadership of the Chief Commissioner, Les Allamby, not only as we attempt to emerge...

The changes to the Immigration Rules today follow the commitments made by the British Government in the New Decade, New Approach agreement of 9 January 2020 and the earlier review promised by Theresa May into Irish citizens in NI being joined by their family members. These changes are driven by the legal challenge by Emma...

There are clear deficiencies in the UK government’s most recent proposals for dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past, according to a new report published today. Prosecutions, Imprisonment and the Stormont House Agreement: A Critical Analysis of Proposals on Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland reviews all of the proposals put forward on...

In recent years, there have been eleven distinct proposals on dealing with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. Most recently, a new approach to legacy was put forward by the UK government in a statement delivered by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in March 2020. Prosecutions, Imprisonment and the Stormont House Agreement: A...

CAJ shares the dismay of victims’ groups and others at the statement on legacy given by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) today. This statement appears to envisage the abandonment of the structures proposed in the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) in favour of a new ‘fast-track’ process, the detail of which is entirely unclear. It seems...

After three years in the political wilderness, Northern Ireland once again has a functioning devolved government sitting at Stormont. A new cross-party deal, published in January 2020, paved the way for the restoration of the NI Assembly and Executive. The New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement was announced by the Irish and British governments on...

We are living in strange times, dominated by Brexit, but the work of CAJ has continued, unabated, over the last twelve months. In our latest annual report, CAJ’s key achievements from the last year are highlighted, including the establishment of two brand new projects to take our work forward. Introduction to the report: This has...