Letter: Law requires Stormont ministers to implement Northern Ireland Protocol

A letter from Dr Paul Kingsley:
Then agriculture minister Edwin Poots' instruction to halt checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from GB was unlawful and taken for political reasons, the High Court ruled in December 2022. Mr Justice Colton also found the wider executive did not need to approve the checks. It follows, writes Dr Paul Kingsley in a letter to the editor in today's News Letter, that any party re-entering the Stormont executive would be required by law to implement the Protocol/Windsor FrameworkThen agriculture minister Edwin Poots' instruction to halt checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from GB was unlawful and taken for political reasons, the High Court ruled in December 2022. Mr Justice Colton also found the wider executive did not need to approve the checks. It follows, writes Dr Paul Kingsley in a letter to the editor in today's News Letter, that any party re-entering the Stormont executive would be required by law to implement the Protocol/Windsor Framework
Then agriculture minister Edwin Poots' instruction to halt checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from GB was unlawful and taken for political reasons, the High Court ruled in December 2022. Mr Justice Colton also found the wider executive did not need to approve the checks. It follows, writes Dr Paul Kingsley in a letter to the editor in today's News Letter, that any party re-entering the Stormont executive would be required by law to implement the Protocol/Windsor Framework
By Letters
Published 17th Jan 2024, 00:01 BST
Updated 17th Jan 2024, 07:11 BST

It seems that there are people who think that their politicians can re-enter the Stormont executive and, in some way, continue to oppose the implementation of the NI Protocol/Windsor Framework.

They should bear in mind the high court judgment against Edwin Poots when he was agriculture minister.

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The court ruled that the NI Protocol has effect in British law as a result of Section 7A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

In the Poots case, it was ruled that the minister had a legal obligation to implement checks on goods entering NI from GB. However, because of Section 7A, all ministers will have an obligation to similarly implement the protocol.

The court further ruled that checks on goods (and by implication any other implementation of the protocol) did not require executive approval. That ruled out three or more members of the executive exercising a veto relating to the protocol by asking for a decision to be taken on a cross-community basis.

Each minister has an individual obligation to implement the protocol.

It follows that any party re-entering the executive would be required by law to implement the Protocol/Windsor Framework.

Dr Paul Kingsley, Belfast, BT4

Related topics:ProtocolNorthern IrelandEdwin PootsNI Protocol