NORTHERN IRELAND (EMERGENCY PROVISIONS) BILL
Introduction
21. This bill extends
the life of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996
and makes a number of amendments to that Act. There are new powers
in clauses 4 and 5.
Clause 4
22. Section 53
of the 1996 Act requires the Secretary of State to make a code
of practice in connection with the silent video recording of police
interviews with persons detained under section 14(1)(a) or (b)
of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989.
The effect of the amendment made by clause 4 is to allow the Secretary
of State to extend by order that code to other police interviews.
Such orders will be subject to negative procedure (this is the
result of the amendment made by paragraph 3(3)(b) of Schedule
1).
Clause 5
23. The new section
53A inserted by this clause in the 1996 Act requires the Secretary
of State to make a code of practice in connection with police
interviews of persons detained under section 14(1(9) or (b) of
the 1989 Act. Again there is a power by order (subject to negative
procedure) to extend the code to other police interviews. Paragraph
3(2) of Schedule 1 amends section 54 of the 1996 Act so as to
apply that section to codes under new section 53A. The result
is that the Secretary of State has to publish his proposals and
consider representations and lay the revised draft before both
Houses before he can make an order bringing the code into operation.
Clause 6 has the effect of applying affirmative procedure to
commencement orders relating to codes under this new section or
the existing section 53, instead of the negative resolution procedure
provided for section 53 at present.
Recommendation
24. There is nothing
in the bill to which the House's attention need be drawn.
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