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Draft:Northern Ireland Act 2000

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Northern Ireland Act 2000
Long titleAn Act to make provision for the suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland and the exercise of certain functions conferred by or under Part V of the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and for connected purposes.
Citation2000 c. 1 (N.I.)
Introduced byPeter Mandelson MP (Commons)
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lords)
Territorial extent Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent10 February 2000
Commencement12 February 2000
Other legislation
Relates toNorthern Ireland Act 1998
Status
Northern IrelandRepealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Northern Ireland Act 2000 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Northern Ireland Act 2000 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which suspended the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly for over three months starting in February 2000.

Direct rule was imposed in Northern Ireland in Febraury 2000, as a result of concerns that the IRA was not decommissioning, which had been raised by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.[1][2]

The Act has been described as an "unwelcome brake on the future" academically.[3]

In May 2000, after direct rule was imposed, the IRA released a statement that it would start a long-term process that would "completely and verifiably" put its arms beyond use.[4]

The Act repealed the previous legislation which enabled direct rule.[5]

The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 repealed the Act after "five years of talks" between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein, which devolved further powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.[5][6]

At the time, the imposition of direct rule was described as ending "Northern Ireland's unique experiment in inclusive government" in an "angry farce", but there was also acknowledgement that if the decommissioning could be resolved, "900-year-old political evolution of the islands" would continue.[7][8]

Sinn Fein announced a legal challenge to the Act.[9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sargeant, Jess (2019-07-31). "Direct rule in Northern Ireland". Institute for Government.
  2. ^ Information Office, Northern Ireland Assembly (2009-10-29). "Brief Summary, Northern Ireland Assembly". archive.niassembly.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  3. ^ Morison, J. (2001-06-01). "Democracy, Governance and Governmentality: Civic Public Space and Constitutional Renewal in Northern Ireland". Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. 21 (2): 287–310. doi:10.1093/ojls/21.2.287. ISSN 0143-6503.
  4. ^ "Timeline: Northern Ireland Assembly". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-03-14.
  5. ^ a b Torrance, David (2022-03-30). "Northern Ireland: Direct Rule" (PDF). UK Parliament.
  6. ^ "What is direct rule for Northern Ireland?". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  7. ^ Mullin, John (2000-02-12). "Ulster goes back to direct rule".
  8. ^ Brown, Derek (2000-02-04). "Direct rule: back to the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  9. ^ "Direct rule legal threat". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2000-02-06. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
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