JR83 is the anonymised Applicant who lodged an appeal against the High Court judgement issued in Belfast on the 12th September 2019. The Applicant lives in the Derry border area in Northern Ireland. The appeal was heard in by the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland yesterday on Monday 16th September 2019. Acting for JR83 Patricia Coyle, Solicitor of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitor & Advocates, said today;
“Our legal arguments to the Court of Appeal yesterday are that;
- The Prime Minster and Brexit Secretary have already broken the law as regards Northern Ireland in pursuing a No Deal Brexit strategy. We say that they cannot crash out of the EU on the 31st October 2019 as they are prohibited from doing so by s.10 of the Withdrawal Act 2018.
- In any event, the Westminster Government cannot leave the EU with or without a deal if it results in a border in Northern Ireland. The imposition of a border and the practical consequences of a border will breach s.10 of the Withdrawal Act 2018 and the fundamental human rights protected by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Those rights include protection of life, protection of interference with family life and protection from discrimination for border populations.
The Withdrawal Act 2018 became law in September 2018. Our client argues that s.10 of this Act, together with the ECHR, protects the invisible border and relative peace we have enjoyed in Northern Ireland for the past 20 years.
Our client argues that both the Act and the European Convention also protect the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement. As our Senior Counsel Barry MacDonald QC submitted to the Court of Appeal yesterday, we are trying to extinguish the fuse on a stick of dynamite which has been lit and placed under the Good Friday Agreement.
On behalf of our client we submitted to the Court that the judicial review Judge was wrong in his judgement on the 12th September 2019 that this case is about politics and that the Courts in Northern Ireland should not interfere. This case is about the rule of law and the fact that the Prime Minster and Brexit Secretary have already broken the law.”
Judgement was reserved by the Court of Appeal yesterday and is due before the end of September 2019.
Patricia Coyle, Solicitor, 02890 278227
