The frequently cited assumption that withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights would imperil the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement is mistaken, right of centre thinktank Policy Exchange argues today.
The latest output from its human rights workstream, endorsed by several high-profile opponents ECHR withdrawal, states that nothing in the UK’s commitments to the peace process in Northern Ireland requires it to remain a part of the ECHR.
According to the report, only one of the two agreements making up the Good Friday Agreement refers to the ECHR, but these references all concern the domestic law of Northern Ireland and the need to provide assurances to the different parties that they will be secure from abuse of devolved power. Such assurances could be provided for in several ways after a UK withdrawal from the ECHR, such as by maintaining the Human Rights Act and the Northern Ireland Act in relation to the political institutions of Northern Ireland, the report argues.
Meanwhile, nothing in the 2023 Windsor Framework agreement prohibits the UK from withdrawing from the ECHR. '
According to the report, only one of the two agreements making up the Good Friday Agreement refers to the ECHR, but these references all concern the domestic law of Northern Ireland and the need to provide assurances to the different parties that they will be secure from abuse of devolved power. Such assurances could be provided for in several ways after a UK withdrawal from the ECHR, such as by maintaining the Human Rights Act and the Northern Ireland Act in relation to the political institutions of Northern Ireland, the report argues.
Meanwhile, nothing in the 2023 Windsor Framework agreement prohibits the UK from withdrawing from the ECHR. '
Continue @ Law Society Gazette.
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