Under section 2(1) of the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997 (“the 1997 Act”) a decommissioning scheme must identify a period during which firearms, ammunition and explosives may be dealt with in accordance with the scheme (“the amnesty period”). Under subsection (2) of that section, the amnesty period must end before the first anniversary of the day on which the 1997 Act was passed or such later day as the Secretary of State may by order from time to time appoint. Under subsection (3) of that section, a day appointed by such an order must not be more than twelve months after the day on which the order is made or more than five years after the day on which the 1997 Act was passed. The 1997 Act was passed on 27th February 1997.

This Order appoints 24th February 2000 as the day before which the amnesty period identified in a decommissioning scheme must end. The Order also revokes the first Order made under section 2(3) (S.I. 1998/893), which appointed 27th February 1999 for the purposes of section 2(2).