2(1)An offence is equivalent to a qualifying offence if it—
(a)was committed before 10th April 1998,
(b)was committed in connection with terrorism and the affairs of Northern Ireland, and
(c)is certified by the appropriate Law Officer as an offence which if it had been committed in Northern Ireland would have been a scheduled offence within the meaning of the [1973 c. 53.] Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973, [1978 c. 5.] 1978, [1991 c. 24.] 1991 or [1996 c. 22.] 1996.
(2)If a person who makes an application under section 3 in relation to a sentence for an offence requests the appropriate Law Officer to provide a certificate under sub-paragraph (1)(c) in relation to that offence, the Law Officer shall as soon as reasonably practicable—
(a)grant the certificate, or
(b)refuse the request and notify the person who made the request of the refusal and the reasons for it.
(3)In deciding whether an offence would have been a scheduled offence a Law Officer shall ignore the possibility of a certificate by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland that the offence was not to be treated as a scheduled offence.
(4)For the purposes of this paragraph the appropriate Law Officer is—
(a)in relation to an offence committed in England and Wales, the Attorney General, and
(b)in relation to an offence committed in Scotland, the Lord Advocate.