§ Mr. Paul MurphyI beg to move amendment No. 24, in page 10, line 18, at end insert
'and may make provision having retrospective effect'.The amendment is technical, and would come into play when the Secretary of State made an order under clause 20 revoking subordinate legislation of the devolved authority that was incompatible with international obligations, or that had an adverse effect on provisions relating to accepted matters. It permits such an order to take retrospective effect. There is a natural presumption against retrospective legislation, but it is justified in this case. The House reached that conclusion when it approved a corresponding provision in clause 54 of the Scotland Bill, from which clause 20 borrows heavily.
§ Mr. GrieveI seek clarification of one point. I do not object to what the Minister is trying to do, but I am puzzled about where the amendment is being inserted. If the purpose is to provide for retrospective effect to an order revoking legislation, the amendment should be tagged on to the end of line 16. It has nothing to do with reciting the reasons for revoking the legislation, which are dealt with in subsection (5), which includes line 18.
What the Government seek to achieve is that, when an order is made to revoke legislation, there may also be provision for giving it retrospective effect, and I understand the reasons for that. I hope that the point is not too pedantic, but at some point, somewhere, someone will have to interpret the Bill, and it seems that the proper place for the amendment is in line 16.
§ Mr. MurphyI shall raise that matter with those who drafted the Bill, because I agree that we need to consider it.
§ Amendment agreed to.