The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which received the

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 18 July 1973. The Act abolished the suspended

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

and the post of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and made provision for a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

administration consisting of an Executive chosen by the new Northern Ireland Assembly devised under the

Sunningdale Agreement The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The agreement was signed at Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973. Unioni ...

; the Assembly had already been created by the

Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973 The Northern Ireland Assembly was a Legislature, legislative assembly set up by the Her Majesty's Government, Government of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1973 to restore Devolution, devolved government to Northern Ireland with the power-sharing N ...

, passed two months earlier.

"Status of Northern Ireland as part of United Kingdom"

When the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

ceased to be a member of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

had responded with the

Ireland Act 1949 The Ireland Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to deal with the consequences of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 as passed by the Irish parliament, the Oireachtas. Background Following the secession of most ...

. Amongst its other provisions, the Act had guaranteed that Northern Ireland would not cease to remain a part of the United Kingdom "without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland" (s. 1(2)); this declaration had proven to be controversial both with the Irish government and with Northern Ireland's nationalist community. Since the 1973 Act abolished the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it replaced the 1949 guarantee with one based on a popular vote rather than a parliamentary vote (s. 1):

It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland remains part of Her Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom, and it is hereby affirmed that in no event will Northern Ireland or any part of it cease to be part of Her Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland voting in a poll held for the purposes of this section in accordance with Schedule 1 to this Act.

A referendum on similar lines had already been held on 8 March 1973, with 98.9% of voters backing the union after a nationalist boycott of the poll. Schedule 1 of the Constitution Act provided that no further referendum was to be held before 9 March 1983. If the result of that or any future referendum meant that Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, a subsequent referendum on the issue could not be held for a further ten years. The

Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...

replaced the 1973 referendum requirement, requiring a referendum if it "appears likely" to pass and unity negotiations if it does pass, and reducing the gap between referendums to seven years.Northern Ireland Act 1998; section 1 and schedule 1, section 100(2) and schedule 15.

Attempts to prevent discrimination

Part III of the Act dealt with discrimination "on the ground of religious belief or political opinion." Any existing Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, any Measure to be passed by the new Assembly, and any

secondary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democra ...

was declared to be void if it discriminated against an individual or "class of persons" on the basis of their religious or political beliefs. It was also said to be unlawful for the Executive or a government body to "discriminate, or aid, induce or incite another to discriminate" against someone on the same grounds. Discrimination was defined as "treat ng aperson or class f personsless favourably in any circumstances than other persons are treated in those circumstances by the law for the time being in force in Northern Ireland." The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) was also created.

Abolition of the Parliament, etc

The

, which had been indefinitely suspended on 30 March 1972 by the

Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 The Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 (c. 22) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced direct rule in Northern Ireland with effect from 30 March 1972. The act, which took effect immediately on receiving ...

, was now permanently abolished. Its staff were transferred to work for the new Assembly. The office of Governor of Northern Ireland was also abolished. Unlike the position with the Parliament, his duties were not transferred to a new role but were mainly absorbed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Responsibility for appointing (or removing) the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland was given to the

Attorney General for Northern Ireland The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Attorney General for Northern Ire ...

(which office was now attached to that of the

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

Devolution

Devolution was only to come into effect if an Executive (government) could be formed that had the support of the Assembly and that was "likely to be widely accepted throughout the community". The Act listed excepted matters and reserved matters; the former were areas in which the Assembly was not permitted to legislate; the latter were areas which the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland could transfer into the Assembly's power when and if he saw fit.

Excepted matters

*the monarchy *the Westminster parliament *international relations (other than dealings with the

in a limited set of fields) *certain topics covered by the European Communities Act *the armed forces *dignities and titles of honour *

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

treason felony The Treason Felony Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Parts of the Act are still in force. It is a law which protects the King and the Crown. The offences in the Act w ...

*nationality and immigration *pre-existing taxes *the appointment or removal of judges *elections *

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * '' COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...

and

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

s *the National Savings Bank *extraordinary powers for dealing with terrorism or " subversion"

The Executive

The

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...

was to be headed by a chief executive and was to include a maximum of eleven other members (including the heads of the various government departments). The chief executive was also to be '' ex officio'' "Leader of the Assembly". New members of the Executive were also required to take an

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...

(or make an affirmation):

I swear by Almighty God 'or'' I affirmthat I will uphold the laws of Northern Ireland and conscientiously fulfil as a member of the Northern Ireland Executive my duties under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 in the interests of Northern Ireland and its people.

Sources

*Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973

.36 This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further i ...

References

External links

*
Extracts from the text as enacted
{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1973 Constitutional laws of Northern Ireland History of Northern Ireland Politics of Northern Ireland Unionism in the United Kingdom 1973 in Northern Ireland Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Northern Ireland Northern Ireland devolution Northern Ireland Assembly (1973) July 1973 events in the United Kingdom