During his first official visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham declared that a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table”. His immediate priorities, he explained, were public services, the cost of living and the effective … [Read more...] about ‘Off the Table’? The New Prime Minister and Northern Ireland
The Windsor Framework was adopted in 2023 in the wake of Brexit to regulate affairs in Northern Ireland. Until recently, it had been unclear what freestanding EU rights were conferred on individuals through the Framework. A recent judgment … [Read more...] about What Now For Human Rights Under the Windsor Framework?
Devolution was always described as a process and not an event. Well, the devolution journey has moved on to a new phase with the May elections in Scotland and Wales, with the result that three nationalist parties now hold power outside England. The … [Read more...] about What do the May Election Results Mean for Devolution?
On Monday the Constitution Society went on the road to Belfast to host two panel talks on the legacy of the Brexit vote for Northern Ireland 10 years after the EU Referendum. On a blustery March afternoon, members of the public made their … [Read more...] about 10 Years Since the Brexit Vote: A Constitution Society Event in Belfast
One of the core principles of international human rights law is universality. Universality means that human beings are endowed with equal human rights simply by virtue of being human, wherever they live and whoever they are, regardless of … [Read more...] about Human Rights: A New Front in the Battle Over Devolution?
Voters in the Republic of Ireland went to the polls in late November. After several rounds of counting in the complex proportional representation system, Fianna Fáil proved the winner, securing 48 of the 174 seats available, ahead of Sinn Féin on 39 … [Read more...] about How Dublin’s Next Coalition Could Define Northern Ireland’s Destiny
One of the most urgent matters on the desk of new Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn is the redevelopment of the west-Belfast sports stadium, Casement Park. The Prime Minister is reported to have told the football governing body, UEFA, that he … [Read more...] about The Constitutional Implications of the Casement Park Upgrade
Northern Ireland went to the polls on July 4th in what, for several reasons, turned out to be a historic election. The term “historic election” has been worn out in Northern Ireland recently, as since 2017, our elections across the piece have all had … [Read more...] about The key takeaways from Northern Ireland’s election results
Constitutional debates can often sneak up on us in ways we least expect. Looking back over the last decade in UK politics, the referenda in Scotland and on membership of the European Union came about unexpectedly, with a surprise electoral majority … [Read more...] about Reporting the Divide: Lessons for any Future Referendum
In 1912, the shipyard of Harland and Wolff in East Belfast produced a ship that was state of the art, a marvel of engineering, “designed to be unsinkable”. As it traversed the iceberg-laden waters of the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage at high … [Read more...] about The Titanic Struggle over the Illegal Migration Act
The High Court in Northern Ireland was recently asked in Dillon and Ors v Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to consider whether the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (Legacy Act) was compatible with human rights … [Read more...] about The Sunlit Uplands of Rights Protection in Northern Ireland
The principle of rigorous impartiality For over twenty-five years, the government of the United Kingdom has been under an extraordinary obligation. The last two governments have failed to uphold it. As a consequence, the present condition of the … [Read more...] about Rigorous impartiality: What has been breached in the quest for a DUP deal and why the British will regret it
