Northern Ireland Act 1998
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The Northern Ireland Act 2006 (2006 c. 47) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster.
It repealed the Government of Ireland Act 1999, parts of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1990, and established new rules in line with the European Union and the Northern Ireland peace process, subsequent to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
The Act allows 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 Assembly has been suspended a number of times since 1998, and was re-established on Tuesday 8th May 2007, subsequent to the St Andrews Agreement of 2006.
Election to the Assembly is by Single Transferrable Vote (STV) a form of Proportional Representation.
- Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
- Text of the Act (OPSI site)
- Website of the Northern Ireland Assembly