Mr. J. Enoch Powellasked the Lord Privy Seal why he regards the convention of 3 December 1937 between the United Kingdom and Switzerland on legal proceedings as not extending to Northern Ireland without express notification; and whether such notification has been or will be made.
§ Mr. LuceIn so far as civil proceedings in Northern Ireland are concerned, article 8 has the effect of excluding258W Swiss citizens from the rights accorded by the convention until such time as the United Kingdom notifies Switzerland through the diplomatic channel that the operation of the convention shall extend to Northern Ireland. A notification in these terms was addressed to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs by the British embassy in Berne on 26 May 1981, and the extension came into force on 26 June 1981.
As regards civil proceedings in Switzerland the provisions of the convention are held to apply, by virtue of the nationality definition in article 1(b)(5), to
all subjects of Her Majesty wherever domiciledincluding, of course, those living in Northern Ireland.