STATUTES
| Date | 01 May 1972 |
| Published date | 01 May 1972 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1972.tb01335.x |
STATUTES
THE NORTHERN
IRELAND
ACT
1972
"
[O]f
all laws which a Legislature can pass an Act of Indemnity
is
the most likely to produce injustice.
It
is on the face of
it
the legalisation of illegality; the hope of it encourages acts of
vigour, but
it
also encourages violations of law and of
humanity. The tale of Flogging Fitzgerald in Ireland, or the
history of Governor Eyre in Jamaica is sufficient to remind
us
of the deeds of lawlessness and cruelty which in a period of
civil conflict may be inspired by recklessness or passion, and
may be pardoned by the retrospective sympathy or partnership
of a terror-stricken
or
vindictive Legislature."
~IONG
the least creditable episodes in Anglo-Irish legal history
have been the passage of Indemnity Acts to cover unlawful acts of the
authorities in times of civil commotion.2 The latest of these is the
Northern Ireland Act, which passed through the British Parliament
on the night of February
23/24
in the brief space of approximately
seven hours and eleven minutes.
It
was passed to render retro-
spectively lawful the conferring upon the British Forces in Northern
Ireland by the Northern Irish Government of powers, under Northern
Irish legislation, namely, the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Acts
1922-42,
to disperse assemblies, to search houses, vehicles, vessels
and other premises, to stop vehicles on suspicion of being used for
purposes prejudicial
to
peace
or
order,
to
arrest people on suspicion,
etc. The occasion for the passing of this hasty Act was a decision
of the Northern Irish High Court, earlier on the same day, February
23,
to the effect that regulations conferring such powers on the
British armed forces were
ultra vires
the Government
of
Ireland Act
1920.
This imperial Act, the Constitution of Northern Ireland,
established the Northern Irish Parliament, giving
it
authority to
make
"
laws for the peace, order, and good government of
.
.
.
Northern Ireland
"
but by section
4
(I)
provided that it should not
have
"
power
to
make laws in respect of the following matters in
particular, namely-
. .
.
(3)
The navy, the ar?~iy, the air
force, the territorial army,
or
any other naval, military,
or
air force,
or
the defence
of
the realm,
or
any other naval,
military, or air force matter
(including any pensions and
allowances payable to persons who have been members
or
in
respect of service in any such force
or
their widows
or
depen-
1
-4.
V.
Dicey,
A
Leap
in
the Dark,
or
Our
New
Constitution
(London.
1803),
2
Cf.
P.
O'Higgins,
"
Wrigkt
v.
Fitzgerald
Revisited
"
(1962)
35
M.L.R.
pp.
87-88.
413-428.
295
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