Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 (c. 53)

Part 2 Amendments of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 etc

Ministerial conduct

7 Pledge of office

(1) In the pledge of office set out in Schedule 4 to the 1998 Act, after paragraph (c) insert—

“(ca) to promote the interests of the whole community represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly towards the goal of a shared future;

(cb) to participate fully in the Executive Committee, the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council;

(cc) to observe the joint nature of the offices of First Minister and deputy First Minister;

(cd) to uphold the rule of law based as it is on the fundamental principles of fairness, impartiality and democratic accountability, including support for policing and the courts as set out in paragraph 6 of the St Andrews Agreement;”.

(2) At the end of the pledge of office set out in that Schedule insert—

“Paragraph 6 of the St Andrews Agreement says:

“We believe that the essential elements of support for law and order include endorsing fully the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the criminal justice system, actively encouraging everyone in the community to co-operate fully with the PSNI in tackling crime in all areas and actively supporting all the policing and criminal justice institutions, including the Policing Board.””