Legislation

Introduction

These pages provide information on secondary legislation which:

a) engages with an area which is within the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly; or

b) relates to the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol; and

c) is related to the UK’s Withdrawal from the EU.

EU Withdrawal – Secondary Legislation

The law of the European Union formed a significant part of the UK legal system. When it ceases to apply at the end of the implementation period (i.e. 31^st December 2020) some legislation may not function properly.

The EU Withdrawal Act 2018, together with the EU Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020, contained correcting and implementing powers. These allow Ministers in the UK Government and devolved legislatures to pass laws which correct defects in, or implement changes to, laws affected by the UK’s exit from the EU.

Links to more information about the legislation passed in this way are available below. These lists are constantly being updated and are not intended to be definitive. ^[1]

EU Withdrawal Legislation in NI - 2017-2020

During the time the Assembly was not sitting, secondary legislation which implemented the UK’s exit from the EU was passed at Westminster. This article explains how that process worked in more detail.

This is not intended to be a complete list, and only collates statutory rules which specifically and exclusively apply to Northern Ireland, are related to the UK’s exit from the EU, and were passed before the Assembly reconvened. A complete list of legislation which is passed in this way is available *here*.

Secondary legislation which affects areas of devolved competence.

Where secondary legislation involves matters which are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, and relate to the UK’s exit from the EU, it has been included in this list.  

Secondary legislation which implements the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol

Secondary legislation which implements the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol may not be exclusively applicable to Northern Ireland, and sometimes only applies to England, Scotland or Wales. Legislation will be included in this list where the explanatory memorandum identifies the Protocol as part of the legal or policy issues it tries to address.