Parity of Esteem as a Constitutional Principal in Northern Ireland and Beyond
Held on 9 and 10 April 2025 at Queen’s University Belfast, this Conference brought together scholars from the UK, Ireland, and other plurinational jurisdictions to discuss the concept of parity of esteem as a legal and constitutional principle. It explored nationality, multiculturalism, migration, citizenship, and secession, beginning in Northern Ireland, but also embracing jurisdictions such as India, Spain, and Switzerland, and in so doing advancing the field of plurinational constitutionalism.
The Keynote Lecture was provided by Professor Chris McCrudden, Mitchell Institute Fellow: Rights and Social Justice, who discussed The Perils of Ambiguity: ‘Parity of Esteem’ in the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
View the Conference Schedule here.
Organised by Mitchell Institute Fellow (The Politics and Security of Institutional Peacebuilding), (University of Essex), (Queen’s University Belfast) and (University College London), this Conference was funded by as part of their 2025/26 British Academy Conferences Scheme and was hosted in partnership with the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, the Schools of Law and the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB and the University of Essex.
The recording of the Keynote Lecture can be viewed below:
Recordings of the Conference Sessions can be viewed at the links below: