Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

57 Interpretation of this Part

(1) In this Part—

• “designated persons” means the persons designated by the Secretary of State in regulations made under section 56;

• “different communities in Northern Ireland” means communities in Northern Ireland—

  (a)

  which had or have differing views on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, or

  (b)

  between which there was or is political or sectarian hostility;

• “events and conduct before or after the Troubles” has the meaning given in subsections (2) to (4);

• “initial period” means the period of one year beginning with the specified day;

• “relevant organisation” means an organisation that the Secretary of State considers to have expertise in carrying out, promoting or otherwise facilitating activities that are intended to encourage reconciliation or anti-sectarianism;

• “specified day” means the day specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of commencing the Troubles-related work programme;

• “Troubles-related work programme” means the functions which are imposed on the designated persons by sections 49, 50 and 52.

(2) “Events and conduct before or after the Troubles” means the events and conduct that related to Northern Ireland affairs and occurred—

(a) before 1 January 1966, or

(b) after 10 April 1998.

(3) That includes events and conduct at those times which were connected with—

(a) preventing,

(b) investigating, or

(c) otherwise dealing with the consequences of,

other events and conduct relating to Northern Ireland affairs.

(4) For the purposes of this section it does not matter if an event or conduct occurred in Northern Ireland, in another part of the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.

(5) Section 1 includes provision about the meaning of “conduct” and “Northern Ireland affairs”.

(6) Where this Part requires one or more persons to publish a document, it is for the person or persons to decide the manner in which the document is to be published.