Sage-Tips

What did the Good Friday agreement say?

The agreement thus left the issue of future sovereignty over Northern Ireland open-ended. The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise.

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK for VAT purposes?

Northern Ireland is, and remains, part of the UK’s VAT system. There will be no requirement for a new VAT registration for sales of goods in Northern Ireland. If you are already VAT registered, your existing VAT registration will be unaffected and you will not need to get another VAT registration.

Is there a customs border between Ireland and Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland remains legally in the UK Customs Territory and part of any future UK trade deals. This results in a de jure customs border on the island of Ireland, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Great Britain is no longer in a customs union with the European Union.

What is the Belfast Agreement?

The Belfast Agreement is also known as the Good Friday Agreement, because it was reached on Good Friday, 10 April 1998. It was an agreement between the British and Irish governments, and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, on how Northern Ireland should be governed.

Did the Belfast Agreement prevent the Irish from introducing a hard border?

For those who want to research deeper, they will discover the Belfast Agreement was no barrier to the Irish introducing a hard border enforced by police and troops in 2001 during a foot and mouth outbreak nor from running regular immigration operations. Neither did it prevent the Irish introducing a sea border.

Does the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement forbid the provision of barrier controls?

CLAIM: The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement does not forbid the provision of barrier controls between Northern Ireland and Ireland. CONCLUSION: ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION. The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement does not exclude governments’ border measures, but aims for ‘normal security arrangements’.

Will Brexit affect the Good Friday Agreement and the hard border?

The Good Friday Agreement featured in some of the Article 50 litigation, including the Gina Miller case, but the issue of a hard border was not addressed. In his ruling in a 2016 case at Belfast High Court, Mr Justice Maguire suggested it was premature to assess how Brexit would affect the peace accord.