69.—(1) The Department shall, after consultation with the Agency, appoint an officer to be known as the Certification Officer for Northern Ireland (in this Order referred to as “the Certification Officer”).
(2) The Certification Officer shall not be regarded as a servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown.
(3) The Agency shall—
(a)provide for the Certification Officer the requisite staff (from among the Agency’s officers and servants) and the requisite accommodation, equipment and other facilities; and
(b)pay to the Certification Officer such remuneration and travelling and other allowances as may be determined by the Department with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel.
(4) The Department may pay, or make provision for paying, to, or in respect of, the Certification Officer such pension, allowance or gratuity on his death or retirement as the Department may, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, determine.
(5) The Agency shall pay to the Certification Officer such sums as he may require for the making of payments in pursuance of any scheme made by the Department under Article 70(2).
(6) Where a person ceases to be the Certification Officer otherwise than on the expiry of his term of office, and it appears to the Department that there are special circumstances which make it right for him to receive compensation, the Department may make him a payment of such amount as the Department may, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, determine.
(7) The Certification Officer shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year, make a report of his activities during that year to the Agency and the Department and the Department shall lay before the Assembly a copy of every report received by it under this paragraph.
(8) The functions of the Certification Officer may, if for any reason he is unable to act or during any vacancy in his office, be discharged by a person nominated for that purpose by the Department.
(9) The Certification Officer shall take custody of all annual returns, accounts, copies of rules and other documents submitted, for the purposes of the Trade Union Acts (Northern Ireland) 1871 to 1965, to the officer appointed to perform in Northern Ireland the functions of registrar of friendly societies and which are, immediately before the appointed day, in the custody of that officer.
(10) The Certification Officer shall keep available for public inspection (either free of charge or on payment of a reasonable charge) at all reasonable hours such of the documents referred to in paragraph (9) as are, or were, available for public inspection in pursuance of any of the Acts referred to in that paragraph.
(11) In the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975(1) in Part III of Schedule 1 (other disqualifying offices), there shall be inserted (at the appropriate place) the following entry—
“Certification Officer for Northern Ireland.”.
70.—(1) Except in relation to matters as to which express provision is made by or under any statutory provision, the Certification Officer may regulate the procedure to be followed—
(a)on any application or complaint made to him; or
(b)where his approval is sought with respect to any matter;
and, without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by this paragraph, the provision made by the Certification Officer in exercise of that power shall include such provision as he considers appropriate for restricting the circumstances in which the identity of an individual who has made, or is proposing to make, any such application or complaint is disclosed to any person.
(2) The Department, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, may by scheme make provision for the payment by the Certification Officer to any persons of such sums as may be specified in or determined under the scheme in respect of expenses incurred by those persons for the purposes of, or in connection with, their attendance at hearings held by the Certification Officer in the course of carrying out his functions.
(3) The High Court shall hear appeals on questions of fact or law arising in any proceedings before, or arising from any decision of, the Certification Officer under Article 5 or 6.
(4) The Court of Appeal shall hear appeals on questions of law arising in any proceedings before, or arising from any decision of, the Certification Officer under Article 57, 59, 67 or 77.