Lawyers Without Borders Student Division at Queen’s University Belfast hosted their inaugural event on Friday 11th October. The event was a panel discussion with Emma DeSouza discussing her recent immigration case which was appealed by the Home Office and the consequential citizenship issues for those born in Northern Ireland in light of the appeal judgement. Ms. Maria McCloskey, an associate director of Napier Solicitors, chaired the session. The panel also included Colin Harvey, professor of Human Rights Law in QUB and the immigration project coordinator with the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) in Belfast, Ms. Una Boyd.

The discussion started with Emma providing an overview of her case. She outlined how the recent court ruling denied her identification as an Irish citizen and automatically categorised her as a British citizen by law just because she is born in Northern Ireland. She noted that this had impacted her right of identity under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Members of the audience engaged actively with the panel, discussing the potential post-Brexit implications that may affect NI citizens’ access to their EU rights. For more information and live footage of the event, visit the official Facebook page of Lawyers Without Borders QUB Student Division. 

You can find out more about Emma DeSouza's immigration case here

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/14/uk-court-rules-against-derry-woman-in-irish-identity-case