Northern Ireland Act 1998

Contents

3,865 provisions, too many to show on one page. Open a part or section to read it with its history and connections, or search inside the text.

1. Part I · Preliminary
   1. 1 Status of Northern Ireland.
   2. 2 Previous enactments.
   3. 3 Devolution order.
   4. 4 Transferred, excepted and reserved matters.
2. Part II · Legislative Powers
   1. General
   2. Royal Assent
   3. Scrutiny and stages of Bills
3. Part III · Executive Authorities
   1. Authorities
   2. Functions
   3. Miscellaneous
   4. Executive Committee: further provisions
   5. Ministerial Code
   6. Power to refer Ministerial decision to Executive Committee
4. Part IV · The Northern Ireland Assembly
   1. Disqualification
   2. Miscellaneous
   3. Elections etc
   4. Presiding Officer and Commission
   5. Proceedings etc.
   6. Remuneration and pensions
5. Part V · NSMC, BIC, BIIC etc.
   1. 52 North-South Ministerial Council and British-Irish Council.
   2. 52A North-South Ministerial Council and British-Irish Council
   3. 52B Section 52A: duty to attend Council meetings etc
   4. 52C Sections 52A and 52B: supplementary
   5. 53 Agreements etc. by persons participating in Councils.
   6. 54 British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
   7. 55 Implementation bodies.
   8. 56 Civic Forum.
6. Part 5A · EU WITHDRAWAL: Democratic Consent and Scrutiny
   1. 56A Democratic consent process
   2. 56B Application of EU acts
7. Part VI · Financial Provisions
   1. Advances
   2. Miscellaneous
   3. Consolidated Fund
8. Part VII · Human Rights and Equal Opportunities
   1. Equality of opportunity
   2. Human rights
   3. Protections deriving from EU withdrawal agreement
9. Part 7A · National and Cultural Identity
   1. 78F National and cultural identity principles
   2. 78G The Office of Identity and Cultural Expression
   3. 78H Functions of the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression
10. Part 7B · The Irish Language
    1. 78J Recognition of the status of the Irish language
    2. 78K The Irish Language Commissioner
    3. 78L Functions of the Commissioner
    4. 78M Irish language best practice standards
    5. 78N Review and revision of best practice standards
    6. 78Q Meaning of “public authority”
11. Part 7C · The Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition
    1. 78R The Commissioner
    2. 78S Functions of the Commissioner
    3. 78U Meaning of “public authority”
12. Part VIII · Miscellaneous
    1. Miscellaneous
    2. Discrimination: certificates by Secretary of State
    3. Judicial scrutiny
    4. Power to make provision by Order in Council
    5. Social security, child support and pensions
13. Part IX · Supplemental
    1. 95 Savings for existing laws.
    2. 95A Directions under sections 30A, 47B and 51B
    3. 96 Orders and regulations.
    4. 96A Explanatory statements in relation to certain regulations
    5. 97 Financial provision.
    6. 98 Interpretation.
    7. 99 Minor and consequential amendments.
    8. 100 Transitional provisions, savings and repeals.
    9. 101 Short title and commencement.
14. Schedule 1 · Polls for the purposes of section 1
    1. (1) The Secretary of State may by order direct the holding...
    2. (2) Subject to paragraph 3, the Secretary of State shall exercise...
    3. (3) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under...
    4. (4) (1) An order under this Schedule directing the holding of...
15. Schedule 2 · Excepted matters
    1. (1) The Crown, including the succession to the Crown and a...
    2. (2) The Parliament of the United Kingdom; parliamentary elections, including the...
    3. (3) International relations, including relations with territories outside the United Kingdom,...
    4. (4) The defence of the realm; trading with the enemy; the...
    5. (5) Control of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and other weapons...
    6. (6) Dignities and titles of honour.
    7. (7) Treason but not powers of arrest or criminal procedure.
    8. (8) Nationality; immigration, including asylum and the status and capacity of...
    9. (9) The following matters— (a) taxes or duties under any law...
    10. (9A) Child Trust Funds.
    11. (9C) The operation of the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012.
    12. (9D) Bonuses under the Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017.
    13. (10) The following matters— (a) national insurance contributions;
    14. (10A) Tax credits under Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act...
    15. (10B) Health in pregnancy grant, Child benefit and guardian’s allowance.
    16. (10C) The operation of the Childcare Payments Act 2014.
    17. (11) The determination of the remuneration, superannuation and other terms and...
    18. (11A) The Supreme Court , but not rights of appeal to...
    19. (12) (1) Elections, including the franchise, in respect of the Northern...
    20. (13) The subject-matter of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act...
    21. (14) Coinage, legal tender and bank notes.
    22. (15) The National Savings Bank.
    23. (16) The subject-matter of the Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980....
    24. (16A) Regulation of the provision of subsidies which are or may...
    25. (17) National security (including the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service...
    26. (18) Nuclear energy and nuclear installations, including nuclear safety, security and...
    27. (19) Regulation of sea fishing outside the Northern Ireland zone (except...
    28. (20) Regulation of activities in outer space.
    29. (20A) Regulation of activities in Antarctica (which for these purposes has...
    30. (21) Any matter with which a provision of the Northern Ireland...
    31. (21A) The office and functions of the Advocate General for Northern...
    32. (22) Any matter with which a provision of this Act falling...
16. Schedule 3 · Reserved matters
    1. (1) The conferral of functions in relation to Northern Ireland on...
    2. (2) Property belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown...
    3. (3) Navigation, including merchant shipping, but not harbours or inland waters....
    4. (4) Civil aviation but not aerodromes.
    5. (5) The foreshore and the sea bed and subsoil and their...
    6. (6) Domicile.
    7. (7) The subject-matter of the Postal Services Act 2000. This paragraph...
    8. (7A) The alteration of the number of members of the Assembly...
    9. (8) Disqualification for membership of the Assembly; privileges, powers and immunities...
    10. (9) (1) The following matters— (a) the subject-matter of Parts 2...
    11. (9A) . . . . . . . . . ....
    12. (10) (1) The subject-matter of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act...
    13. (11) The operation of the temporary provisions, as defined in section...
    14. (11A) . . . . . . . . . ....
    15. (12) (1) Items for the time being specified in Article 45(1)...
    16. (13) Civil defence.
    17. (14) The subject-matter of Part 2 of the Civil Contingencies Act...
    18. (14A) . . . . . . . . . ....
    19. (15) Reserved matters
    20. (15A) . . . . . . . . . ....
    21. (16) The ... Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland.
    22. (17) Reserved matters
    23. (18) The subject-matter of sections 149 to 151 of and Schedules...
    24. (19) The subject-matter of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
    25. (20) Import and export controls and trade with any place outside...
    26. (21) The subject-matter of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
    27. (22) The subject-matter of the following provisions of the Pension Schemes...
    28. (23) The following matters— (a) financial services, including investment business, banking...
    29. (24) The subject-matter of— (a) the Building Societies Act 1986;
    30. (25) The subject-matter of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer...
    31. (25A) The subject-matter of the Transfer of Funds (Information on the...
    32. (26) Regulation of anti-competitive practices and agreements; abuse of dominant position;...
    33. (27) Intellectual property but not the subject-matter of Parts I and...
    34. (28) Units of measurement and United Kingdom primary standards.
    35. (29) Telecommunications; wireless telegraphy; the provision of programme services (within the...
    36. (30) The National Lottery (except in so far as any matter...
    37. (31) Xenotransplantation.
    38. (32) Surrogacy arrangements, within the meaning of the Surrogacy Arrangements Act...
    39. (33) The subject-matter of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990....
    40. (34) Human genetics.
    41. (35) Research Councils within the meaning of the Science and Technology...
    42. (35A) United Kingdom Research and Innovation.
    43. (36) Areas in which industry may qualify for assistance under Part...
    44. (37) Consumer safety in relation to goods.
    45. (38) The subject matter of all technical standards and requirements in...
    46. (39) The subject-matter of section 3(5) to (7) of the Environmental...
    47. (40) The subject-matter of— (a) the Data Protection Act 1984;
    48. (41) Oaths and declarations (including all undertakings and affirmations, by whatever...
    49. (41A) (1) The division of local government districts into areas (“district...
    50. (42) Any matter with which a provision of this Act falling...
17. Schedule 4 · Annex A to Strand One of Belfast Agreement
    1. Code of Conduct
    2. Pledge of Office
18. Schedule 4A · Department with policing and justice functions
    1. Part 1 Department in the charge of Minister approved by resolution of Assembly by virtue of section 21A(3)
    2. Part 1A Department in the charge of Minister approved by resolution of the Assembly by virtue of section 21A(3A)
    3. Part 2 Department in the charge of two Ministers
    4. Part 3 Department with rotation between Minister and junior Minister
    5. Part 3A Department in the charge of Minister and deputy Minister
    6. Part 4 Power to make further modifications
19. Schedule 5 · Northern Ireland Assembly Commission
    1. Membership
    2. Staff
    3. Powers
    4. Delegation
    5. Proceedings and business
    6. Crown status
20. Schedule 6 · Standing orders: further provision
    1. Preservation of order
    2. Proceedings to be in public
    3. Reporting and publishing proceedings
    4. Committees
    5. Votes in vacancy
21. Schedule 6A · Eu withdrawal: democratic consent process
    1. Part 1 General
    2. Part 2 Duty of Secretary of State to initiate the democratic consent process
    3. Part 3 Default Democratic Consent Process
    4. Part 4 Alternative democratic consent process
    5. Part 5 Procedural Matters and Outcome
    6. Part 6 Independent Review
22. Schedule 6B · Eu withdrawal: windsor framework democratic scrutiny
    1. Part 1 General
    2. Part 2 Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee
    3. PART3 Procedure by which members of the Assembly may seek to prevent the application of a replacement EU act
    4. Part 4 Ministerial consideration of new EU acts in the Joint Committee
23. Schedule 7 · The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
    1. Introductory
    2. Commissioners’ tenure
    3. Commissioners’ salary etc.
    4. Staff
    5. Annual report
    6. Money
    7. Procedure
    8. Disqualification
    9. Status
24. Schedule 8 · The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
    1. Introductory
    2. Commissioners’ tenure
    3. Commissioners’ salary etc.
    4. Additional Commissioners
    5. Staff
    6. Annual report
    7. Money
    8. Procedure
    9. Disqualification
    10. The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints
    11. Status
25. Schedule 9 · Equality: enforcement of duties
    1. The Equality Commission
    2. Equality schemes
    3. Duties arising out of equality schemes
    4. Complaints
    5. Investigations
    6. Government departments
26. Schedule 9A · The Office of Identity and Cultural Expression
    1. (1) Status
    2. (2) Membership
    3. (3) Tenure of members
    4. (4) Members’ salary etc.
    5. (5) Staff
    6. (6) Assistance
    7. (7) Exercise of functions
    8. (8) General powers
    9. (9) Proceedings
    10. (10) Funding
    11. (11) Accounts
    12. (12) Annual report
    13. (13) Seal and evidence
27. Schedule 9B · The Irish Language Commissioner
    1. (1) Status
    2. (2) Tenure of office
    3. (3) Commissioner’s salary, etc
    4. (4) Staff
    5. (5) Assistance
    6. (6) Exercise of functions
    7. (7) General powers
    8. (8) Funding
    9. (9) Accounts
    10. (10) Annual report
    11. (11) Seal and evidence
    12. (12) Property
28. Schedule 9C · Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition
    1. (1) Status
    2. (2) Tenure of office
    3. (3) Commissioner’s salary, etc
    4. (4) Staff
    5. (5) Assistance
    6. (6) Exercise of functions
    7. (7) General powers
    8. (8) Funding
    9. (9) Accounts
    10. (10) Annual report
    11. (11) Seal and evidence
    12. (12) Property
29. Schedule 10 · Devolution issues
    1. Part I Preliminary
    2. Part II Proceedings in Northern Ireland
    3. Part III Proceedings in England and Wales
    4. Part IV Proceedings in Scotland
    5. Part V General
30. Schedule 11 · Tribunal established under section 91
    1. Introductory
    2. Members
    3. Chairman
    4. Payments to members
    5. Proceedings
    6. Staff
    7. Expenses
    8. Disqualification of Tribunal Members
31. Schedule 12 · Construction of references in existing laws
    1. Preliminary
    2. The Parliament and the old Assembly
    3. Legislation etc of the Parliament or the old Assembly
    4. Money
    5. Office-holders and Ministers
    6. Courts
    7. Equal opportunity bodies
32. Schedule 12A · Effect of application of section 95A(6) or (7)
    1. Directions under section 30A(5): Northern Ireland Ministers and junior Ministers
    2. Directions under section 30A(2) or (5): the First Minister and deputy First Minister
    3. Directions under section 47B or 51B
    4. General
33. Schedule 13 · Minor and consequential amendments
    1. Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976 (c.25)
    2. Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/1042 (N.I. 15))
    3. Interpretation Act 1978 (c.30)
    4. Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I.12))
    5. Mental Health Act 1983 (c.20)
    6. Insolvency Act 1986 (c.45)
    7. Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/460 (N.I.5))
    8. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c.48)
    9. Official Secrets Act 1989 (c.6)
    10. Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 (c.32)
    11. Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5)
    12. Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c.8)
    13. Environment and Safety Information (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/3159 (N.I.14))
    14. Civil Service (Management Functions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/1894 (N.I.9))
    15. Olympic Symbol etc. Protection Act 1995 (c.32)
    16. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c.50)
    17. Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1297 (N.I.7))
    18. Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1298 (N.I.8))
    19. Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/869 (N.I.6))
    20. Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998 (c.12)
    21. Data Protection Act 1998 (c.29)
34. Schedule 14 · Transitional provisions and savings
    1. Human rights
    2. First Minister and deputy First Minister
    3. Ministerial offices
    4. Northern Ireland Ministers
    5. Junior Ministers
    6. Department of First Minister and deputy First Minister
    7. Prerogative orders
    8. Agency arrangements
    9. Statutory committees
    10. Elections of members
    11. Vacancies
    12. Disqualification
    13. Presiding Officer and deputy
    14. Standing orders
    15. Civic Forum
    16. Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland
    17. Social security and child support
    18. Certificates by Secretary of State
    19. Devolution issues
    20. Relations with Republic of Ireland
    21. Discrimination in legislation
    22. Discrimination by public bodies
    23. Members’ Pensions
35. Schedule 15 · Repeals