Northern Ireland authorities must continue to carry out checks on goods entering the region from the rest of the U.K., a Belfast court ruled, little more than a day after a minister for the devolved government ordered the checks to be stopped.
The high court in Belfast ruled inspections on agri-food goods must continue pending a judicial review set for next month, Irish state broadcaster RTE said, citing the court ruling.
The EU decried Poots’ order as a breach of international law, even as the British government insisted it was a matter for the region’s power sharing assembly.
The ruling comes a day after Democratic Unionist Party lawmaker Paul Givan quit as First Minister, throwing the future of the assembly into chaos ahead of elections scheduled for May. DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson indicated his party won’t return to the assembly until issues around the protocol have are resolved.