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...

CAJ has issued a statement on Paul O’Connor, Director of the Pat Finucane Centre, in response to the media coverage he received over the past weekend: “CAJ wishes to put on record that we have worked with Paul O’Connor, Director of the Pat Finucane Centre, for many years. He has been – and continues to...

Inside this issue: A series of articles examine how amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill 2019 on equal marriage, abortion law, and legacy will impact our society. Dr John Topping of Queen’s University Belfast writes about the PSNI’s use of ‘everyday’ stop and search powers. The Chair of the Northern Ireland Business and...

CAJ joins with a range of civic and business groups in writing an open letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker in the US House of Representatives, on the need to protect the NI peace settlement during US-UK trade talks. As US Vice President Mike Pence continues his visit to Ireland and the UK, a consortium of...

CAJ has joined forces with over 85 civil society organisations to express grave concerns about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit in an open letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Together with organisations from across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, we have called on the Prime Minister to urgently engage with our...

Two amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill 2019, inserted in the House of Commons, would require the NI Secretary of State to report on progress towards implementing measures designed to afford additional protections to security forces in legacy investigations. Namely (in summary), these amendments add requirements for the Secretary of State to: Report...

When: 9.30am to 4.45pm, Friday 27 September 2019 Where: Canada Room, Queen’s University Belfast A working conference organised by CAJ in collaboration with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), QUB Human Rights Centre, and Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. The reality of Northern Ireland life for the past...

In March 2019, the Equality Coalition, in partnership with BrexitLawNI, held a major conference on ‘Post-Brexit Citizenship Status: Divided by the Rules?’ in the Moot Court Room at Queen’s University Belfast. Featuring expert practioner and political panels, the conference explored how Brexit will transform the citizenship landscape in Northern Ireland and could lead to hardened...