Northern Ireland Act 1998

The abuse of “controversial and cross-cutting”

Andy Boal on February 2, 2022, 9:06 pm | Readers 3608

There is no doubt that the question of border checks at Northern Ireland’s ports is controversial. The question is whether Edwin Poots has the ability to ignore the law of the United Kingdom? Jamie Bryson argues that that section 20(4)(aa) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 overrides the obligations of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It isn’t in the Programme for Government, therefore it needs to be decided by the Executive. However, Sinn Fein state that that decision was made by …

In review: why the abortion debate landed where it landed

Andy Boal on June 8, 2020, 7:12 am | Readers 741

To begin with, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 specifically authorises Parliament to make laws for Northern Ireland (Section 5(6)) and, in return, the Northern Ireland Assembly to amend laws made by Parliament to the extent that they affect Northern Ireland, provided that the matter has been “transferred” (devolved – see section 6). In theory, there could be an unending game of ping pong as the Assembly asserts its will and Parliament asserts its sovereignty. Thus the Sewell convention, which is …

“the British Government, and the British State, no longer claim jurisdiction over this part of the island”

Pete Baker on April 15, 2013, 3:10 pm | Readers 251

So claimed Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, MLA, in his recent appearance on UTV Live. Here’s the quote again. The fundamental difference between before the Good Friday Agreement and after the Good Friday Agreement is that the British Government, and the British State, no longer claim jurisdiction over this part of the island. That’s very very important, and that’s a very important building block for us to convince those who, at this moment in time, don’t support the idea of a united …