The ICEL and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) are delighted to announce an upcoming series of lunchtime seminars on Brexit, taking place between 28 March and 6 April 2022, which will be chaired by Professor Christopher McCrudden of QUB.

Tickets for the entire seminar series are available for €100 here and to members for €70 here. Pupil Barristers and Trainee Solicitors may purchase a ticket for the entire seminar series here. Tickets for each individual seminar can be purchased for €45 or €30 for members of the ICEL at the links provided below.

The first seminar is entitled “Irish Sea Border Litigation.” In this panel, we will discuss current and potential litigation concerning the Irish Sea Border, considering what the legal issues are regarding the Irish Sea Border and what the state of play is on litigation on the issue. This includes the EU (suspended) challenge to UK previous unilateral action on grace periods; the Blair International case (suspended); and the recent decision of Minister Edwin Poots to cease searches at the Irish sea border, which was challenged in judicial review proceedings leading to an order by the High Court suspending this decision until the litigation has been resolved. The seminar will take place on 28 March 2022 from 1pm until 2pm.

Speakers at this seminar will include:

  • Brian Doherty (ICEL)
  • Clive Thorne (McCarthy Denning Solicitors)
  • Ciarán O’Hare (McIvor Farrell Solicitors)
  • Dr Billy Melo Araujo (QUB)
  • Professor Katy Hayward (QUB)

Ordinary tickets for this seminar may be purchased here and members’ tickets are available here

The second seminar is entitled “the Legal Dimensions of Article 16” and will consider the legal implications of Article 16 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol. It is unclear when or if the UK plans to trigger Article 16, but in this panel we consider the legal implications of Article 16, and what issues arise if/when it is triggered: what is the threshold for triggering Article; in what way the UK says that the threshold has been met; what legal test/evidence is apt to prove a ‘diversion of trade’; what happens if/when it is triggered; what options are/are not on the table for the EU? One topic will likely arise in an Article 16 discussion: – the worst-case scenario for Ireland: that if the EU suspends the Trade Agreement in retaliation, and the situation remains unresolved for a period of time, what are Ireland’s obligations with respect to a border, when would the obligations kick in, and how could a border be created? The seminar will take place on 30 March 2022 from 1 pm until 2pm.

Speakers at this seminar will include:

  • Margaret Gray, QC, SC (Brick Court Chambers and Law Library)
  • Ciarán Toland SC (Law Library)
  • Professor Robert Howse (NYU)
  • Professor Catherine Barnard (Cambridge)

Ordinary tickets for this seminar may be purchased here and members’ tickets are available here.

The third seminar will address “the Duty of Good Faith and Mutual Trust” in the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The issue of trust (or lack of it) is often invoked in the context of actions taken by parties to the Withdrawal Agreement and the TCA. The obligation of ‘good faith’ has already been invoked by the EU to challenge actions by the UK Government. This seminar will focus on the substantive meaning and procedural effects of invoking ‘good faith’. In this context, the fact that ‘good faith’ is found in multiple legal sources relevant to Brexit requires consideration of how the interpretation of these provisions may be fundamentally different from each other, and from how analogous concepts in the EU treaties have hitherto been interpreted. The seminar will take place on 1 April 2022 from 1 pm until 2pm.

Speakers at this seminar will include:

  • Jemima Stratford QC, Brick Court Chambers and member of the UK panel for the Withdrawal Agreement Arbitration Panel (Chair)
  • Professor Christopher McCrudden (QUB)
  • Professor Kenneth Armstrong (University of Cambridge)
  • Dr John Temple Lang (ICEL and Trinity College Dublin)

Ordinary tickets for this seminar may be purchased  here and members’ tickets are available here.

The fourth seminar will address “The Allister case in the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.” The decision of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in Allister in which the constitutionality of the Protocol was challenged was handed down on the 14th March 2022. This panel will consider the significant constitutional issues about the status of the Protocol in UK law that the decision raises. The seminar will take place on 4 April 2022 from 1 pm until 2pm.

Speakers at this seminar will include:

  • Dr Conor McCormick (QUB)
  • Professor Nicholas Barber (University of Oxford)
  • Professor Christine Bell (University of Edinburgh/QUB)
  • Professor Vernon Bogdanor (King’s College London)

Ordinary tickets for this seminar may be purchased here and members’ tickets are available here.

The fifth seminar will consist of a “Recent Developments and Litigation Update” with five contributions focusing on litigation and potential litigation arising from both the Withdrawal Agreement/Protocol and the TCA of particular significance in Ireland and Northern Ireland not otherwise discussed in the previous seminars of this series: EAW litigation in Dublin/CJEU; the SPUC case in Belfast; EU citizens’ welfare rights, including the Fratila/CG cases in the CJEU and the UK Supreme Court, and the voting rights of EU citizens. The seminar will take place on 6 April 2022 from 1 pm until 2pm.

Speakers at this seminar will include:

  • Professor Christopher McCrudden (QUB)
  • Daniel Holder (CAJ)
  • Tom de la Mare QC
  • Paul Gallagher SC, Attorney General of Ireland
  • Ciarán Toland SC

Ordinary tickets for this seminar may be purchased here and members’ tickets are available here.

There are 5 CPD points available for attending these seminars.