Safeguards: ‘This Is Not an Exit’—Article 16 in the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol
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Description
Chapter 13, by Robert Howse, focuses on another mechanism foreseen in the Protocol, whose operation is left to the discretion—and wisdom—of the parties: the ‘Safeguards’ Article 16. As Howse explains, Article 16 is an emergency provision that either the UK or the EU can invoke unilaterally if the application of this Protocol leads to serious economic, societal, or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to diversion of trade. However, as Howse shows from a comparative perspective with a variety of safeguard mechanisms in international trade agreements, Article 16 is not really the silver bullet that many political leaders claim it is. In fact, triggering the clause would not authorize a full-blown suspension of the Protocol. Rather, a process—detailed in Annex 7 attached to the Protocol—would start; measures would need to be strictly necessary and proportionate; and the other party could take rebalancing measures. Howse details the legal content of Article 16, and points out its limited power, concluding that ultimately the provision does not allow a party to opt out of the Protocol.
Source Publication
The Law & Politics of Brexit: The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland
Source Editors/Authors
Federico Fabbrini
Publication Date
2022
Recommended Citation
Howse, Robert L., "Safeguards: ‘This Is Not an Exit’—Article 16 in the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol" (2022). Faculty Chapters. 827.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/827
