Minutes of Proceedings
Session: 2009/2010
Date: 15 December 2009
Venue: Room 21
The meeting opened at 11.07 am in closed session.
1. Apologies
Mrs Carmel Hanna
Mr Danny Kennedy
Mr Raymond McCartney (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr John O’Dowd
Mr Ian Paisley Jnr
2. Minutes of Proceedings of meeting held on 8 December 2009
Members agreed the Minutes of Proceedings of the meeting held on 8 December 2009.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4. Correspondence – outgoing/incoming
Incoming correspondence
Members noted a letter from Mr David Lennox of the NIO, in relation to the briefing he gave to the Committee on 8 December 2009.
5. Briefing by NIO Officials on the Intergovernmental Agreements, Memoranda of Understanding, Protocols and Concordats
11.09 am NIO and Northern Ireland Court Service Officials joined the meeting.
Peter May - Northern Ireland Office
Moira Doherty - Northern Ireland Office
Laurene McAlpine - Northern Ireland Court Service
Jane Maguire - Northern Ireland Court Service
Officials briefed the Committee on the:
- draft Concordat between Her Majesty’s Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on the Independence of the Judiciary in Northern Ireland, and
- The draft Protocol on the Policing Architecture.
There was a Question & Answer session.
Agreed: The Committee Clerk undertook to obtain a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between Her Majesty’s Government and the devolved administrations, mentioned in the draft Concordat between Her Majesty’s Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on the Independence of the Judiciary in Northern Ireland.
Agreed: NIO and Court Service officials undertook to re-draft the documents and make further presentations to the Committee in due course.
12.11 am NIO Officials left the meeting
6. Date, time and place of next meeting
The Committee agreed that the next meeting would take place on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 at 11.00 am, in Room 21, unless the Chairperson, in consultation with the Deputy Chairperson, decides, based on correspondence received from the NIO, or for any other reason, to hold a meeting prior to this date.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 12.13 am.
