Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
1. If the Government declare that the State has
become obliged, pursuant to the Agreement,
to
give effect to the amendment of this
Constitution referred to therein, then,
notwithstanding Article 46 hereof, this
Constitution shall be amended as follows:
i. the following
Articles
shall be substituted
for
Articles 2 and 3 of the
Irish text:
"2.
[Irish
text
to
be
inserted
here]
3.
[Irish
text
to
be
inserted
here]"
ii. the following
Articles
shall be substituted
for
Articles 2 and 3 of the
English text:
"Article 2
It is the entitlement and
birthright of every person
born
in the island of Ireland,
which
includes its islands and
seas, to
be part of the Irish nation.
That
is also the entitlement of
all
persons otherwise qualified
in
accordance with law to be
citizens of Ireland.
Furthermore,
the Irish nation cherishes
its
special affinity with people
of
Irish ancestry living abroad
who
share its cultural identity
and
heritage.
Article 3
1. It is the firm will
of
the Irish nation, in
harmony
and friendship, to
unite all
the people who share
the
territory of the island
of
Ireland, in all the
diversity of their
identities and
traditions,
recognising that a
united
Ireland shall be
brought
about only by peaceful
means
with the consent of a
majority of the people,
democratically
expressed, in
both jurisdictions in
the
island. Until then, the
laws
enacted by the
Parliament
established by this
Constitution shall have
the
like area and extent of
application as the laws
enacted by the
Parliament
that existed
immediately
before the coming into
operation of this
Constitution.
2. Institutions with
executive powers and
functions that are
shared
between those
jurisdictions
may be established by
their
respective responsible
authorities for stated
purposes and may
exercise
powers and functions in
respect of all or any
part
of the island."
iii. the following
section shall be
added
to the Irish text
of
this Article:
"8. [Irish text to
be
inserted here]"
and
iv. the following
section shall be
added
to the English
text of
this Article:
"8. The State may
exercise
extra-territorial
jurisdiction in
accordance with
the
generally
recognised
principles of
international
law."
4. If a declaration under
this
section is made, this
subsection
and subsection 3, other than
the
amendment of this
Constitution
effected thereby, and
subsection
5 of this section shall be
omitted from every official
text
of this Constitution
published
thereafter, but
notwithstanding
such omission this section
shall
continue to have the force
of
law.
5. If such a declaration is
not
made within twelve months of
this
section being added to this
Constitution or such longer
period as may be provided
for by
law, this section shall
cease to
have effect and shall be
omitted
from every official text of
this
Constitution published
thereafter.
STRAND ONE
DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND
1. This agreement provides for a
democratically elected Assembly in
Northern
Ireland which is inclusive in its
membership, capable of exercising
executive
and legislative authority, and subject
to
safeguards to protect the rights and
interests of all sides of the
community.
The Assembly
2. A 108-member Assembly will be
elected by
PR(STV) from existing Westminster
constituencies.
3. The Assembly will exercise full
legislative and executive authority in
respect of those matters currently
within
the responsibility of the six Northern
Ireland Government Departments, with
the
possibility of taking on
responsibility for
other matters as detailed elsewhere in
this
agreement.
4. The Assembly - operating where
appropriate on a cross-community basis
-
will be the prime source of authority
in
respect of all devolved
responsibilities.
Safeguards
5. There will be safeguards to ensure
that
all sections of the community can
participate and work together
successfully
in the operation of these institutions
and
that all sections of the community are
protected, including:
(a) allocations of Committee
Chairs, Ministers and
Committee
membership in proportion to
party
strengths;
(b) the European Convention
on
Human Rights (ECHR) and any
Bill
of Rights for Northern
Ireland
supplementing it, which
neither
the Assembly nor public
bodies
can infringe, together with
a
Human Rights Commission;
(c) arrangements to provide
that
key decisions and
legislation are
proofed to ensure that they
do
not infringe the ECHR and
any
Bill of Rights for Northern
Ireland;
(d) arrangements to ensure
key
decisions are taken on a
cross-community basis;
(i)
either
parallel
consent,
i.e.
a
majority of
those
members
present
and
voting,
including a
majority
of
the
unionist
and
nationalist
designations
present
and
voting;
(ii) or
a
weighted
majority
(60%) of
members
present
and
voting,
including at
least
40% of
each of
the
nationalist
and
unionist
designations
present
and
voting.
Key decisions requiring
cross-community support will
be
designated in advance,
including
election of the Chair of the
Assembly, the First Minister
and
Deputy First Minister,
standing
orders and budget
allocations. In
other cases such decisions
could
be triggered by a petition
of
concern brought by a
significant
minority of Assembly members
(30/108).
(e) an Equality Commission
to
monitor a statutory
obligation to
promote equality of
opportunity
in specified areas and
parity of
esteem between the two main
communities, and to
investigate
individual complaints
against
public bodies.
Operation of the Assembly
6. At their first meeting, members of
the
Assembly will register a designation
of
identity - nationalist, unionist or
other -
for the purposes of measuring
cross-community support in Assembly
votes
under the relevant provisions above.
--
Two rules in life:
1. Don't tell people everything you know.
2.
Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
