Northern Ireland Act 1998

18 Northern Ireland Ministers. U.K.

(1) Where—

(a) an Assembly is elected under section 31 or 32;

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

(c) a resolution which causes one or more Ministerial offices to become vacant is passed under section 30(2);

[F1 (d) a direction which causes one or more Ministerial offices to become vacant is given under section 30A(5);

(da) a period of exclusion under section 30(2) or 30A(5) comes to an end; or.]

(e) such other circumstances obtain as may be specified in standing orders,

all Northern Ireland Ministers shall cease to hold office and the Ministerial offices shall be filled by applying subsections (2) to (6) within a period so specified.

(2) The nominating officer of the political party for which the formula in subsection (5) gives the highest figure may select a Ministerial office and nominate a person to hold it who is a member of the party and of the Assembly.

(3) If—

(a) the nominating officer does not exercise the power conferred by subsection (2) within a period specified in standing orders; or

(b) the nominated person does not take up the selected Ministerial office within that period,

that power shall become exercisable by the nominating officer of the political party for which the formula in subsection (5) gives the next highest figure.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) shall be applied as many times as may be necessary to secure that each of the Ministerial offices is filled.

(5) The formula is—

where—

S = the number of seats in the Assembly which were held by members of the party on the day on which the Assembly first met following its election;

M = the number of Ministerial offices (if any) which are held by members of the party.

(6) Where the figures given by the formula for two or more political parties are equal, each of those figures shall be recalculated with S being equal to the number of first preference votes cast for the party at the last general election of members of the Assembly.

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

(8) A Northern Ireland Minister shall not take up office until he has affirmed the terms of the pledge of office.

(9) A Northern Ireland Minister shall cease to hold office if—

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

(b) he ceases to be a member of the Assembly otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution; or

(c) he is dismissed by the nominating officer who nominated him (or that officer’s successor) and the Presiding Officer is notified of his dismissal.

(10) Where a Ministerial office is vacant otherwise than by virtue of subsection (1), the nominating officer of the party on whose behalf the previous incumbent was nominated may nominate a person to hold the office who is a member of the party and of the Assembly.

(11) If—

(a) the nominating officer does not exercise the power conferred by subsection (10) within a period specified in standing orders; or

(b) the nominated person does not take up the office within that period,

the vacancy shall be filled by applying subsections (2) to (6) within a period specified in standing orders.

(12) 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 [F2 under that provision] has not come to an end,

the party shall be disregarded for the purposes of any application of subsections (2) to (6).

[F3 (12A) Where—

(a) the Secretary of State has given a direction under section 30A(5) in respect of a political party; and

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

the party shall be disregarded for the purposes of any application of subsections (2) to (6).]

[F4 (12B) Where a direction under section 30A(5) ceases to have effect under section 95A(6) or (7), its so ceasing to have effect shall for the purposes of subsection (1)(da) be taken not to involve the coming to an end of a period of exclusion under section 30A(5).]

(13) In this section “nominating officer”—

(a) in relation to [F5 a party registered under Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000], means the registered nominating officer or a member of the Assembly nominated by him for the purposes of this section;

(b) in relation to any other political party, means the person who appears to the Presiding Officer to be the leader of the party, or a member of the Assembly nominated by that person for the purposes of this section.

[F6 (14) In this section, a reference to a period of exclusion under any provision is, in the case of a period of exclusion under that provision which has been extended, a reference to that period as extended.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 18(1)(d)(da) substituted (7.1.2004) for s. 18(1)(d) by Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 (c. 25), ss. 5(2), 12; S.I. 2004/83, art. 2

F2 Words in s. 18(12)(b) inserted (7.1.2004) by Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 (c. 25), ss. 5(3), 12; S.I. 2004/83, art. 2

F3 S. 18(12A) inserted (7.1.2004) by Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 (c. 25), ss. 5(4), 12; S.I. 2004/83, art. 2

F4 S. 18(12B) inserted (7.1.2004) by Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 (c. 25), ss. 10(2), 12, S.I. 2004/83, {art. 2}

F5 Words in s. 18(13)(a) substituted (16.2.2001) by 2000 c. 41, s. 158, Sch. 21 para. 14(2) (with s. 156(6)); S.I. 2001/222, art. 2, Sch. 1 Pt. I

F6 S. 18(14) inserted (7.1.2004) by Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 (c. 25), ss. 5(5), 12; S.I. 2004/83, art. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2 S. 18(1) excluded (8.5.2006 with effect conditional on s. 2(1) of the affecting Act) by Northern Ireland Act 2006 (c. 17), s. 2(1), Sch. 2 para. 2(4)

C3 S. 18(10) applied (12.2.2000) by 2000 c. 1, s. 3(7)(a); S.I. 2000/396, art. 2