Judge rejects legal challenges to NI Protocol
July 1, 2021
BELFAST: Legal challenges against the lawfulness of Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol have been dismissed by a High Court judge in Belfast.
Justice Colton rejected arguments that the contentious post-Brexit trading arrangements breached the terms of the 1800 Acts of Union and the 1998 legislation that underpins the Good Friday Peace Agreement.
In a lengthy judgment, the judge agreed with the applicants’ contention that the Brexit Withdrawal Act, in which the Protocol is enshrined, conflicted with the 1800 Acts of Union.
But he ruled that both were constitutional legislation and said that the Withdrawal Act, which was expressly agreed by Parliament, effectively overrode the provisions of the 200-year old law.