Northern Ireland Act 1998

Northern Ireland Act 1998
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make new provision for the government of Northern Ireland for the purpose of implementing the agreement reached at multi-party talks on Northern Ireland set out in Command Paper 3883.
Citation1998 c. 47
Introduced byMo Mowlam MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Commons)
Lord Dubs, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Lords)
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent19 November 1998
Other legislation
AmendsAct of Settlement 1701
Amended by
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended


The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. The act translated the 1998 multi-party agreement into law.[1]

Provisions

The act states that "Northern Ireland in its entirety remains part of the United Kingdom" and that this "shall not cease to be so without the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland" voting in a dedicated border poll.[2]

It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established by the Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998, to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

It repealed parts of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, and established new rules in line with the European Union and the Northern Ireland peace process, subsequent to the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

The act allowed for a devolved Northern Ireland Assembly of 108 members. Membership of the assembly is subject to a pledge of office, which subjects the member to certain requirements with regard to standards and responsibilities. Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom until or unless a majority vote in a referendum determines otherwise. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland holds the power to call for the referendum if it appears likely to them that a majority of the voters would express their desire to become part of a United Ireland. The assembly has the power of modifying any act of the British Parliament as far as it "is part of the law of Northern Ireland".[3]

The act contains three categories of matters:[4]

  • transferred matters, which are the responsibilities of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
  • reserved maters, which remain the responsibility of Westminster, but can be transferred in the future
  • excepted matters, which remain the responsibility of Westminster, but cannot be transferred

When exercising functions relating to reserved or excepted matters, the UK government may be obliged to consult the Republic of Ireland through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.[5][6] The Assembly has been suspended a number of times since 1998, and was re-established on Tuesday 8 May 2007, subsequent to the St Andrews Agreement of 2006.

Election to the assembly is by single transferable vote (STV), a form of proportional representation.

Section 75 of the act placed an obligation on statutory agencies to consult with specific minority groups, on every aspect of public policy.[7] The listed of groups under the section 75 of the act does not include veterans.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Whitten, Lisa Claire (16 September 2020). "Lisa Claire Whitten: The Belfast 'Good Friday' Agreement and Unconstructive Ambiguity". UK CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ASSOCIATION. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  2. ^ "What did the Supreme Court say about the lawfulness of the Northern Ireland Protocol?". 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  3. ^ "This section does not affect the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to make laws for Northern Ireland, but an Act of the Assembly may modify any provision made by or under an Act of Parliament in so far as it is part of the law of Northern Ireland." Northern Ireland Act 1998, Part II, Legislative Powers
  4. ^ Woodman, George (1 April 2001). "The Legislative Process in the Northern Ireland Assembly". Legal Information Management. 1 (1): 43–45. doi:10.1017/S1472669600000268. ISSN 1741-2021.
  5. ^ Forman, F. N. :Constitutional change in the United Kingdom. University College, London. Constitution Unit. Routledge, 2002, p. 71. ISBN 0-415-23035-7
  6. ^ Aughey, Arthur: The politics of Northern Ireland: beyond the Belfast Agreement. Routledge, 2005, p. 92. ISBN 0-415-32788-1
  7. ^ Haydon, Laura (5 February 2003). "In the pink". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  8. ^ "DUP calls for NI legal changes to help military personnel". BBC News. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2026.

Further reading

  • Walker, Graham. "Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Devolution, 1945–1979," Journal of British Studies Jan. 2010, Vol. 49, No. 1: 117-142.
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