Publications

Research: 'Windsor Framework Article 2: Enforcement and Remedies’

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissions is pleased to publish this independent research report 'Windsor Framework Article 2: Enforcement and Remedies'. This report is by Anurag Deb, Queen’s University Belfast; Dr Sylvia de Mars, Newcastle University; Dr Eleni Frantziou, Durham University; Professor Colin Murray, Newcastle University; and Professor Aoife O’Donoghue, Queen’s University Belfast.

The report is the latest in the Commission’s ongoing research series that explores human rights obligations under Windsor Framework Article 2. Article 2 provides legal protections that certain equality and human rights in Northern Ireland are not reduced after Brexit.

Highlights of the report include an examination of how EU law rights were enforced before Brexit both by the EU institutions and in UK law.

The report explore the key remedies in EU law and their continued relevance for human rights and equality, including:

• looking at what remedies are available where the UK had not adequately transposed an EU measure prior to Brexit;
• application of the right to an effective remedy in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; and
• EU law concepts such as direct effect, consistent interpretation and state liability.

The report also explores how the oversight mechanisms under the Withdrawal Agreement operate and how they interact with the non-diminution commitment in Article 2.