Statutory rules of Northern Ireland

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Delegated legislation United Kingdom statutory instruments 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Statutory rules and orders United Kingdom 1894–1947 Regulatory reform order (List) Ministerial orders
Devolved delegated legislation Statutory rules and orders of Northern Ireland 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Scottish statutory instruments 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Welsh statutory instruments 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Statutory rules of Northern Ireland 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
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The statutory rules of Northern Ireland are the principal form in which delegated legislation is made in Northern Ireland.

Statutory rules are made under the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979.^[1] They replaced statutory rules and orders made under the Rules Publication Act (Northern Ireland) 1925 and are comparable with statutory instruments in the rest of the United Kingdom.

A document is a statutory rule if it contains orders, rules, regulations or byelaws which have effect in Northern Ireland and were made after 31 December 1958 by Northern Ireland departments or certain other public bodies in exercise of a power of a legislative character conferred by:

• an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland,^[2]
• an act of the Northern Ireland Assembly,
• an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^[3]

After being made by the relevant public body, statutory rules are registered and numbered (sequentially under the year in which they are made) by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister^[4] which then arranges for notice of the making of the rules to be published in the Belfast Gazette and for the rules to be printed by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

Many parent Acts will require that new statutory rules are laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly and are either:

• subject to affirmative resolution - in other words, they cannot come into force until approved by the Assembly; or
• subject to negative resolution - meaning that they will become law after a period (usually 30 days when the Assembly is sitting) unless the Assembly passes a resolution to annul them.^[5]

Every statutory rule which is laid before the Assembly and which is subject to proceedings in the Assembly is referred to the appropriate committee of the Assembly for consideration. To assist the committees, the Northern Ireland Assembly has appointed an Examiner of Statutory Rules. The Committee or Examiner will highlight a rule to the Assembly if it:

• imposes a cost on the public finances,
• requires payments of fees to a public authority,
• is made under powers which prevent it from be challenged in the courts,
• attempts to have retrospective effect (i.e. to change the law from a date before the date on which it is made) when the parent legislation does not explicitly empower it to do so,
• makes an unexpected or unusual use of the powers conferred by the parent legislation, or it may be ultra vires (outside the powers granted by the parent legislation, and so unlawful),
• requires further explanation,
• has been published or laid before Assembly late, or
• is unclear or appears to contain mistakes.^[6]

As with all delegated legislation, because statutory instruments are made by a person exercising a power conferred by an Act of Parliament for a specified purpose, rather than by Parliament exercising its sovereign law-making powers, they can be struck down by the courts if it is concluded that they are ultra vires (literally, outside the powers conferred by the parent Act). This would be the case if the Government attempts to use delegated legislation for a purpose not envision by the parent Act, or if the legislation is an unreasonable use of the power conferred by the Act, or if pre-conditions imposed by the Act (for example, consultation with certain organisations) have not been satisfied.