§ 2.58 p.m.
§ Lord PEART rose to move, That the order of 2nd December last relating to the appointment of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments be amended as follows—
§ After paragraph 1(d) insert "but excluding any order in council or draft order in council made or proposed to be made under paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974.".
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I beg to move the first Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. Orders in Council made under paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 are technically Statutory Instruments within the terms of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They therefore fall within the terms of reference of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
§ In reality, however, during direct rule these Orders in Council are the principal means of making primary legislation for Northern Ireland on reserved and transferred matters within the meaning of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. They are the direct successors to the Acts of the Northern Ireland Parliament and Measures of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and are similarly published in the annual volumes of the Northern Ireland Statutes. Moreover, they are drafted so as to fit into the existing Northern Ireland primary legislation: this is vital since they form part of a continuous corpus of law derived from the old law of Ireland which can thus be preserved intact despite the supension of devolved government.
§ The Orders in Council have presented a number of problems for the Joint Committee whose function is to give scrutiny to delegated legislation on technical questions which do not impinge on the merits of that legislation. The Committee have been obliged to scrutinise these orders as if they were ordinary delegated legislation, with all the consequent problems that have arisen from the differences in subject matter and drafting practice. The Committee have suggested that it would be preferable to exclude these 896 Orders in Council from their terms of reference and the Government have agreed to their suggestion. The orders will of course still be subject to full discussion on the Floor of the House. The Motion before the House accordingly seeks to amend the Committee's terms of reference to remove these Orders in Council and I should remind the House that a Message was received from another place on Wednesday saying that a similar amendment had been made there.
§ It might be helpful if I also add a word about the second Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. There is a requirement under Standing Order 68 that no resolution to approve an Affirmative Instrument shall be moved until the Joint Committee has reported on the instrument. It follows that if the first Motion is agreed to we must also exempt Northern Ireland Orders from the provisions of this Standing Order. I therefore beg to move the first Motion.
§ Moved, That the order of 2nd December last relating to the appointment of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments be amended as follows—
§ After paragraph 1(d) insert "but excluding any order in council or draft order in council made or proposed to be made under paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974.".—(Lord Peart.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.