Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Professor Colin MurrayORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 1998 emphasised human rights, “incorporating” the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and proposing a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights and a potential Charter of Rights for Ireland. However, amid political disagreement no progress has been made towards these goals and rights and equality protections have come to lag behind the UK and Ireland in important respects. Meanwhile, Scotland and Wales have advanced novel rights protections. Wales integrated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into its public administration in 2011, and Scotland followed with an even more ambitious scheme in 2024. This latter development has been presented as a prelude towards embedding a swathe of international rights instruments which the UK has signed up to, but which Westminster has not incorporated, into Scots law. These initiatives demonstrate how devolved legislatures can advance rights within their jurisdictions, providing a fresh opportunity to explore options for Northern Ireland. Specific measures incorporating international human rights treaties could potentially enhance Northern Ireland’s lawmakers' understanding of rights issues and help to counter existing obstacles to progress on rights and equality issues.
Author(s): Murray C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
Year: 2025
Volume: 76
Issue: 3
Pages: 626-655
Online publication date: 12/12/2025
Acceptance date: 20/11/2025
Date deposited: 26/11/2025
ISSN (print): 0029-3105
ISSN (electronic): 2514-4936
Publisher: Queen's University Belfast
URL: https://doi.org/10.53386/nilq.v76i3.1183
DOI: 10.53386/nilq.v76i3.1183
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/rfzv-b775
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
