Designing Bills of Rights in Contested Contexts: Reflections on the Northern Ireland Experience
This Article addresses a specific question around bills of rights: How are these instruments drafted? Drawing upon the findings of research projects funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (the “JRCT”), the Article examines the Northern Ireland experience, a place where the process is ongoing. In particular, the Article explores conceptual and practical matters involved in drafting bills of rights in post-conflict societies. The Article suggests that Northern Ireland merits consideration when one reflects on models for the facilitation of public participation in constitutional projects. What happened to the course of the debate on a bill of rights in Northern Ireland also raises hard questions about how to design an effective process in the context of ethno-national division. This Article contributes to discussions on human rights reform in deeply divided societies by examining the Northern Ireland experience.
Recommended Citation: Colin Harvey & Anne Smith, Designing Bills of Rights in Contested Contexts: Reflections on the Northern Ireland Experience, 44 Fordham Int'l L.J. 357 (2020).