The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2010

Transfers of property etc

18.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies in relation to a function which—

(a) is a relevant function being transferred to the Department of Justice or the Minister in charge of that Department,

(b) is a function which, by virtue of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 2010, becomes exercisable on Her Majesty’s behalf under section 23(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998(1), or

(c) is a function being transferred to the Department of Justice or the Minister in charge of that Department by or by virtue of the Northern Ireland Court Service (Abolition and Transfer of Functions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), all property and liabilities to which a Minister of the Crown or a government department is entitled or subject immediately before the coming into force of this Order are transferred to the Department of Justice so far as relating to the function.

(3) All property and liabilities to which a Minister of the Crown or a government department is entitled or subject immediately before the coming into force of this Order in relation to the premises known as the Royal Courts of Justice, Chichester Street, Belfast BT1 3JY, are transferred to the Department of Justice.

(4) All property and liabilities to which a Minister of the Crown or a government department is entitled or subject immediately before the coming into force of this Order are transferred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland so far as relating to the premises listed in Schedule 20 or the contents of those premises.

(5) Nothing in this article transfers—

(a) any property or liabilities so far as relating to land outside Northern Ireland or the contents of such land;

(b) any property or liabilities so far as relating to any premises listed in Schedule 21 or the contents of those premises;

(c) any property or liabilities so far as relating to records (apart from records held by the Northern Ireland Court Service immediately before its abolition);

(d) any property or liabilities so far as relating to a person’s employment in the civil service of the State.

(6) The Department of Justice must make arrangements appearing to it to correspond to any arrangements in place immediately before the coming into force of this Order under which the Crown Solicitor and the staff of the Crown Solicitor’s Office occupy parts of the premises mentioned in paragraph (3).

(7) In particular, the arrangements—

(a) must provide for the Crown Solicitor and staff to continue to be able to occupy those parts of the premises;

(b) may provide for the Crown Solicitor to pay to the Department of Justice amounts akin to a commercial rent and contributions to the costs of running the premises.

(8) Paragraph (6) ceases to have effect on 12 April 2012 and is subject to any other agreement made between the Department of Justice and the Crown Solicitor.

(9) In this article “government department” means—

(a) a department of the Government of the United Kingdom, or

(b) the Northern Ireland Court Service (before its abolition).

(1)

1998 c. 47.