Discussion Paper on the Common Travel Area

Abstract

A Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and the UK has existed for most of the near century since Ireland became independent. These arrangements came into being to lessen the disruptive impact of partition upon life on the island of Ireland and to maintain labour flows across the Atlantic Isles. Since the vote in favour of the UK leaving the EU in the June 2016 referendum, political debate about the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and Ireland has frequently invoked the remedial potential of the CTA. The Joint Committee of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission commissioned this research paper to explore the nature of the CTA and to examine its legal impact within Ireland and the UK.

Keywords: Common Travel Area, Ireland, United Kingdom, Brexit, European Union