Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) Controversy

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• The Boris Johnson administration has come up with a new legislation, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.

Why did the U.K. come up with the Bill?

• The Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) has been a lingering issue for the U.K. almost from the day Brexit was signed. 
• In fact, back in July 2021, the Boris Johnson administration announced its intent to renegotiate the NIP. But with efforts at negotiations not producing the results it wanted, it decided to proceed with a unilateral revamp of the NIP via domestic legislation. 
• It has sparked complaints from businesses about the enormous paperwork needed for supply of goods and services to Northern Ireland despite it being within the sovereign territory of the U.K. 
• The main irritant for the U.K. in the current version of the NIP was the creation of ‘unacceptable barriers’ to trade within the internal market, between Britain and Northern Ireland. 
• It is in this context that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill seeks to empower the U.K. government to override key provisions of the NIP.

How does the proposed Bill undermine the NIP?

• Instead of subjecting all goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland to customs checks, the new Bills proposes two categories of goods and checks:
  • Goods meant only for Northern Ireland would go in a ‘green lane’ and will be exempt from any checks
  • Goods headed for Ireland and the EU would go into a ‘red lane’ where they will be subjected to all the checks and customs controls. 

• The Bill would remove EU oversight on state subsidies and value-added taxes in Northern Ireland.
•  The Bill proposes settlement of trade disputes and the enforcement of the NIP by an independent body rather than the European Court of Justice.
•  The Bill wants to give businesses the choice of selling their goods in Northern Ireland either according to the U.K. rules or the EU rules, in effect, proposing a dual regulatory regime instead of the single (EU) one as per the NIP.

The reaction to the proposed Bill

• The Bill has triggered strong pushback from MPs belonging to Mr. Johnson’s own party, from Irish legislators, and from EU officials.
  •  All of them have pointed out that the legislation would violate international law, damage the U.K.’s reputation as a trade partner, and spark a trade war with the EU. 

• The European Union (EU) has said that the proposed law violates international law and has threatened to take legal action against the U.K. if it goes ahead with the legislation.
  • The EU’s executive branch announced that it would be taking legal action against the U.K. for violating international law.

Administration’s  Justification 

• The Johnson administration has sought to justify its breach of its obligations under the Brexit agreement by invoking a principle of international law known as the “doctrine of necessity”.
  •  The UN’s International Law Commission allows a state to invoke this doctrine when its “essential interests” are facing a “grave and imminent peril”. 
  • The administration believes that this emergency loophole will enable it to defeat any legal challenge to its proposed Bill.

What happens next?

• Any legislation needs to go through Parliament, which could take months.
• The EU has given the UK two months to respond to its declarations.
•  If that does not happen then there could be legal action leading to fines and some experts fear a possible trade war.
• Former prime minister Theresa May has warned that abandoning the protocol would damage the UK’s reputation.

Source:IE