Stormont Stalemate: politicians, civil servants or the courts – who decides?

Today marks the first event in the Bar of Northern Ireland’s new Leaders in Legal Excellence discussion series. The panel debate, entitled “Stormont Stalemate: politicians, civil servants or the courts – who decides?”, will consider the implications of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 which aims to enable civil servants to take certain decisions in the absence of Northern Ireland Ministers.

Chaired by Bar of Northern Ireland Chair Sarah Ramsey BL, our panel features Attorney General John Larkin QC, Department of Justice Permanent Secretary Peter May, DUP Justice Spokesperson Paul Frew MLA, Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson Raymond McCartney MLA and public law specialist Karen Quinlivan QC. The panel will consider a range of questions raised by the new legislation – does the Act now mean that civil servants can take decisions deemed to be in the public interest? What are the policy priorities of organisations working across the justice sector? Are there constitutional implications associated with the governance changes under the Act? And is there a possibility that the courts could be drawn into the decision making arena on policy matters in Northern Ireland again?

Bar of Northern Ireland Chair Sarah Ramsey BL commented: “The Bar is delighted to launch our new discussion series, Leaders in Legal Excellence, today with a panel debate on the implications of the new Westminster legislation introduced by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. We believe that it is vitally important to create a conversation space for representatives of the legal and justice sector to come together to discuss our shared objectives, policy priorities and the challenges facing us in the absence of a functioning Assembly and Executive”.

Read The Bar of Northern Ireland: Leaders in Legal Excellence or download a copy. Contact media@barlibrary.com for more information.