The Law & Politics of Brexit: International Conference

Dublin City University will bring together Europe’s leading experts and key policy–makers to discuss the constitutional implications of Brexit and propose possible solutions. The two-day event will take place after Article 50 has been triggered, giving it the potential to be the first high-level academic and policy gathering of its kind.

Brexit calls into question consolidated assumptions on the finality of the EU. It simultaneously opens new challenges – not only in the institutional fabric of Europe, but also in the constitutional settlements reached at the local level, e.g. in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

While the path toward a full withdrawal by the UK remains clouded in uncertainties, a comprehensive legal and political analysis of how Brexit impacts is of the utmost importance. This conference will:

• Consider how Brexit will be implemented legally and politically.
• Examine the implications of Brexit on the constitutional structure of the UK, as well as on the status of Northern Ireland and relations with Ireland.
• Examine the implications of Brexit on the constitutional structure of the EU, focusing on a number of key areas of EU policy-making, notably the Area of Freedom Security and Justice and Economic and Monetary Union.
• Look into the mid to long-term future, and discuss the prospects for relaunching the EU after and beyond Brexit.

Thursday 20 April 2017

Opening Keynote Speech: Ireland and the UK after Brexit

Prof. Brian MacCraith, President of DCU

Panel 1: Brexit: Politics, Process, Prospects

• Chair: Robert Elgie - Professor of Government, School of Law & Government DCU
• Kalypso Nicolaidis - Professor of International Relations, Oxford University The Politics of the Brext: The Transformation of the European Order
• Paul Craig - Professor of English Law, Oxford University: The Process of Withdrawal: How will Britain pull out of the EU?
• Giorgio Sacerdoti - Professor of International Trade Law, Bocconi University Milan:  The Prospects for the UK after Brexit: How can Britain trade with the EU and the World?

Panel 2: Brexit and Constitutional Change in Regional Perspective

• Chair: Iain McMenamin, Professor of Government, School of Law & Government, DCU
• Stephen Tierney - Professor of Constitutional Theory, Edinburgh University: Brexit and the English Question
• Sionaidh Douglas-Scott - Anniversary Professor of Law, Queen Mary University, London: Brexit and the Scottish Question
• John Doyle - Professor of International Conflict Resolution & Dean, DCU: Brexit and the Northern Irish Question

Matheson Dinner Keynote Speech: Brexit: A View From Private Practice

• Chair: Gary Murphy, Head of School of Law & Government, DCU
• Tim Scanlon, Partner at Matheson Law Firm

Panel 3: Brexit and Constitutional Change in European Perspective

• Chair: Stefani Weiss, Director, Brussels Office, Bertelsmann Stiftung
• Deirdre Curtin - Professor of European Law, European University Institute: Brexit and the EU Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
• Michele Chang - Professor of Political Economy, College of Europe Bruges: Brexit and the EU Economic and Monetary Union
• Catherine Barnard - Professor of EU Law, Cambridge University: Brexit and the EU Internal Market

Panel 4: Beyond Brexit: relaunching the EU?

• Chair: Flavio Brugnoli, Director, Centro Studi Federalismo Marlene Wind - Professor of European Politics, University of Copenhagen: Brexit and Euroscepticism: Will Brexit be Emulated Elsewhere?
• Uwe Puetter - Professor of EU Public Policy & Governance, Central European University: Brexit and the EU Institutional Balance of Power: Toward a New Equilibrium?
• Federico Fabbrini - Professor of European Law, DCU Brexit and EU Treaty Reform: A Window of Opportunity?

Concluding Keynote Speech:

• The Future of Europe Chair: Federico Fabbrini - Professor of Law, DCU