The Constitution of Northern Ireland: Its Origins and Development

Abstract

T HE phrase Constitution of Northern might be given several different meanings. To the historian it represents the remnants of an attempt to deal with Irish for those interested in constitutional development it is part of a scheme which altered the internal structure of the United Kingdom; and to the political scientist it is an experiment in devolution. In this article the term is used with the meaning it has for the constitutional lawyer wishing to refer to the existence within the United Kingdom of a subordinate legislature and executive, and a separate judiciary; alternatively, the phrase denotes the Government of Ireland Act, 19201 (referred to in this article as Act of 1920), as subsequently amended. But no work relating to the Constitution of Northern Ireland would be complete without a reference to the use of the phrase as the title of the classic commentary on the subject, the monumental and fundamental work by the late Sir Arthur Quekett, first holder of the office of Parliamentary Draftsman to the Government of Northern Ireland.2 The objects of this article are to analyse various proposals made between 1886 and 1920 for the constitutional settlement of the Irish question; to describe the provisions of the Act of 1920 which regulate various matters in Northern Ireland today; and to note some developments which have taken place since 1921 in the legislative and executive spheres, and in the realm of judicial review. Only the legal aspects of these matters will be considered, for the position of the events described in other perspectives, such as those of historys and political science,' must be left to those trained in