- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/01/2009)
- Original (As enacted)
No versions valid at: 01/01/2009
Point in time view as at 01/01/2009. This version of this cross heading contains provisions that are not valid for this point in time.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Northern Ireland Act 1998, Cross Heading: Provisions relating to relevant Minister.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
Valid from 11/03/2009
Textual Amendments
F1Sch. 4A inserted (11.3.2009) by Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (c. 33), ss. 17, 31, Sch. 2 (as amended (8.5.2007) by Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 (c. 53), ss. 8, 9, 27, Sch. 5 paras. 8-14, Sch. 6 (with s. 1(3)); S.I. 2007/1397, art. 2 (which amending Act was itself amended (27.3.2007) by Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2007 (c. 4), s. 1(1)) and as amended (11.3.2009) by Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 (c. 6), ss. 44, 53, Sch. 5 paras. 2, 3; S.I. 2009/446, art. 3); S.I. 2009/448, art. 2
3(1)Where any of the conditions in paragraphs (b) to (e) of section 18(1) is satisfied—U.K.
(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 (3) to (6) within a period specified in standing orders.
(2)The relevant Ministerial office shall be filled by applying sub-paragraphs (3) to (6) before section 18(2) to (6) is applied in relation to the other Ministerial offices.
(3)The First Minister and the deputy First Minister acting jointly shall nominate a member of the Assembly to hold the relevant Ministerial office.
(3A)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 his nomination within a period specified in standing orders.
(4)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.
(5)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 he has been nominated within that period,
a further nomination of a member of the Assembly shall be made under sub-paragraph (3).
(6)Sub-paragraphs (3) to (5) shall be applied as many times as may be necessary to secure that the relevant Ministerial office is filled.
(7)The holding of office as First Minister or deputy First Minister shall not prevent a person being nominated to hold the relevant Ministerial office.
(8)The relevant Minister shall not take up office until he has affirmed the terms of the pledge of office.
(9)The relevant 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 First Minister and the deputy First Minister acting jointly and the Presiding Officer is notified of his dismissal; or
(d)where consent to his nomination was required under sub-paragraph (3A), he is dismissed by the nominating officer who consented (or that officer's successor) and the Presiding Officer is notified of his dismissal.
(10)If the relevant Minister ceases to hold office at any time, otherwise than by virtue of sub-paragraph (1), the relevant Ministerial office shall be filled by applying sub-paragraphs (3) to (6) within a period specified in standing orders.
(10A)If, as a result of the relevant Minister (“the former Minister”) ceasing to hold office and the relevant Ministerial office being filled by virtue of sub-paragraph (10),—
(a)the total number of Ministerial offices held by members of a political party increases; or
(b)the total number of Ministerial offices held by members of a political party decreases,
all other Northern Ireland Ministers shall cease to hold office and those Ministerial offices shall be filled by applying section 18(2) to (6) within a period specified in standing orders.
(10B)But sub-paragraph (10A) shall not apply if—
(a)the former Minister ceased to hold office by virtue of being dismissed by a nominating officer under sub-paragraph (9)(d); and
(b)before the relevant Ministerial office was filled, either of the conditions in sub-paragraph (10C) was satisfied in relation to each member of the Assembly who was a member of the political party of the nominating officer.
(10C)The conditions are that—
(a)the First Minister and the deputy First Minister sought to nominate the member under sub-paragraph (3) for the relevant Ministerial office but consent to his nomination was not given in accordance with sub-paragraph (3A); or
(b)the member was nominated under sub-paragraph (3) for the relevant Ministerial office and the nomination took effect within the period specified in standing orders by virtue of sub-paragraph (5)(a), but the member did not take up the office within that period.
(11)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 (3).
(12)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,
no member of that party may be nominated under sub-paragraph (3).
(13)In this paragraph, 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.
(14)In this paragraph “nominating officer” has the same meaning as in section 18.]
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: