Northern Ireland Act 1998

Provisions relating to relevant MinisterU.K.

[F1[F23D[F3(A1)Where—

(a)an Assembly is elected—

(i)at a poll the date for which is proposed under section 32(3B), or

(ii)following the issue of a certificate under section 18(A2),

(b)the period of 24 weeks beginning with the day on which an Assembly first meets expires without the offices mentioned in section 16A(3) having been filled, or

(c)the period of 48 weeks beginning with the day on which a vacancy arises in the offices of First Minister and deputy First Minister expires without those offices having been filled,

the relevant Minister shall cease to hold office (and the relevant Ministerial office shall remain vacant until next filled by virtue of section 16A).]

(1)Where any of the following conditions is satisfied—

(a)the relevant Minister shall (if holding office at the time) cease to hold office, and

(b)the relevant Ministerial office shall be filled by applying sub-paragraphs (4) to (8) within a period specified in standing orders.

(2)The conditions are—

(a)a determination under section 17(1) takes effect;

(b)a resolution which causes the relevant Ministerial office to become vacant is passed under section 30(2);

F4(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d)a period of exclusion under section 30(2) F5... comes to an end F5...;

(e)such other circumstances obtain as may be specified in standing orders for the purposes of section 18(1)(e) but only so far as standing orders provide for those circumstances to be applicable for the purposes of this sub-paragraph.

(3)If relevant, the relevant Ministerial office shall be filled by applying sub-paragraphs (4) to (8) after [F6section 16B(3) to (7) is applied in relation to the offices of First Minister and deputy First Minister but before] section 18(2) to (6) is applied in relation to the other Ministerial offices.

(4)One or more members of the Assembly may nominate another member of the Assembly to hold the relevant Ministerial office.

[F7(4A)But a member of the Assembly who is a member of a political party may not be nominated unless the nominating officer of the party consents to the nomination within a period specified in standing orders.]

(5)The nomination shall not take effect unless it is approved by a resolution of the Assembly passed with the support of—

(a)a majority of the members voting on the motion for the resolution,

(b)a majority of the designated Nationalists voting, and

(c)a majority of the designated Unionists voting.

(6)Once one member has been nominated, no further nominations may be made unless and until sub-paragraph (7) applies.

(7)If—

(a)the nomination does not take effect within a period specified in standing orders, or

(b)the nominated person does not take up the office for which the person has been nominated within that period,

a further nomination of a member of the Assembly may be made under sub-paragraph (4).

(8)Sub-paragraphs (4) to (7) shall be applied as many times as may be necessary to secure that the relevant Ministerial office is filled.

(9)The holding of office as First Minister or deputy First Minister shall not prevent a person being nominated to hold the relevant Ministerial office.

(10)The relevant Minister shall not take up office until the Minister has affirmed the terms of the pledge of office.

(11)The relevant Minister shall cease to hold office if—

(a)the Minister resigns by notice in writing to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister,

[F8(aa)there is an Assembly election at which the Minister is not returned as a member,]

(b)the Minister ceases to be a member of the Assembly otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution, F9...

[F10(ba)where consent to the Minister's nomination was required under sub-paragraph (4A), the Minister is dismissed by the nominating officer of the party and the Presiding Officer is notified of the dismissal, or]

(c)[F11where consent to the Minister's nomination was not required under sub-paragraph (4A),] the Assembly resolves that the Minister is to cease to hold office.

(12)A resolution for the purposes of sub-paragraph (11)(c) must be passed with the support of—

(a)a majority of the members voting on the motion for the resolution,

(b)a majority of the designated Nationalists voting, and

(c)a majority of the designated Unionists voting.

(13)A motion for a resolution for the purposes of sub-paragraph (11)(c) shall not be moved unless—

(a)it is supported by at least 30 members of the Assembly, or

(b)it is moved by the First Minister and the deputy First Minister acting jointly.

(14)If the relevant Minister ceases to hold office at any time, otherwise than by virtue of sub-paragraph [F12(A1) or] (1), the relevant Ministerial office shall be filled by applying sub-paragraphs (4) to (8) within a period specified in standing orders.

(15)Where—

(a)the Assembly has resolved under section 30(2) that a political party does not enjoy its confidence, and

(b)the party's period of exclusion under that provision has not come to an end,

no member of that party may be nominated under sub-paragraph (4).

F13(16). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(17)In this paragraph, a reference to a period of exclusion F14... is, in the case of a period of exclusion F14... which has been extended, a reference to that period as extended.]

[F15(18)In this paragraph and paragraph 3E “nominating officer” has the same meaning as in section 18.]]