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Community law, human rights and international obligations etc. |
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(1) | A community obligation of the United Kingdom is also an obligation of the |
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Welsh Ministers if and to the extent that the obligation could be implemented |
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(or enabled to be implemented) or complied with by the exercise by the Welsh |
| 5 |
Ministers of any of their functions. |
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(2) | Subsection (1) does not apply in the case of a Community obligation of the |
| |
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(a) | it is an obligation to achieve a result defined by reference to a quantity |
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(whether expressed as an amount, proportion or ratio or otherwise), |
| 10 |
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(b) | the quantity relates to the United Kingdom (or to an area including the |
| |
United Kingdom or to an area consisting of a part of the United |
| |
Kingdom which includes the whole or part of Wales). |
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(3) | But if such a Community obligation could (to any extent) be implemented (or |
| 15 |
enabled to be implemented) or complied with by the exercise by the Welsh |
| |
Ministers of any of their functions, a Minister of the Crown may by order |
| |
provide for the achievement by the Welsh Ministers (in the exercise of their |
| |
functions) of so much of the result to be achieved under the Community |
| |
obligation as is specified in the order. |
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(4) | The order may specify the time by which any part of the result to be achieved |
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by the Welsh Ministers is to be achieved. |
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(5) | No order is to be made by a Minister of the Crown under subsection (3) unless |
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the Minister of the Crown has consulted the Welsh Ministers. |
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(6) | A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (3) is subject to |
| 25 |
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament. |
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(7) | Where an order under subsection (3) is in force in relation to a Community |
| |
obligation, to the extent that the Community obligation involves achieving |
| |
what is specified in the order it is also an obligation of the Welsh Ministers |
| |
(enforceable as if it were an obligation of the Welsh Ministers under subsection |
| 30 |
| |
(8) | The Welsh Ministers have no power— |
| |
(a) | to make, confirm or approve any subordinate legislation, or |
| |
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| so far as the subordinate legislation or act is incompatible with Community law |
| 35 |
or an obligation under subsection (7). |
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(9) | Subsections (1) and (8) apply to the First Minister and the Counsel General as |
| |
| |
| |
(1) | The Welsh Ministers have no power— |
| 40 |
(a) | to make, confirm or approve any subordinate legislation, or |
| |
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| so far as the subordinate legislation or act is incompatible with any of the |
| |
| |
|
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|
| |
|
(2) | Subsection (1) does not enable a person— |
| |
(a) | to bring any proceedings in a court or tribunal, or |
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(b) | to rely on any of the Convention rights in any such proceedings, |
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| in respect of an act unless that person would be a victim for the purposes of |
| |
Article 34 of the Convention if proceedings were brought in the European |
| 5 |
Court of Human Rights in respect of that act. |
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(3) | Subsection (2) does not apply to the Attorney General, the Counsel General, the |
| |
Advocate General for Scotland, the Advocate General for Northern Ireland or |
| |
the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. |
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(a) | does not apply to an act which, by virtue of subsection (2) of section 6 |
| |
of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42), is not unlawful under subsection |
| |
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(b) | does not enable a court or tribunal to award in respect of any act any |
| |
damages which it could not award on finding the act unlawful under |
| 15 |
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(5) | Subsection (1) applies to the First Minister and the Counsel General as to the |
| |
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(6) | In subsection (2) “the Convention” has the same meaning as in the Human |
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81 | International obligations etc. |
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(1) | If the Secretary of State considers that any action proposed to be taken by the |
| |
Welsh Ministers would be incompatible with any international obligation, the |
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Secretary of State may by order direct that the proposed action is not to be |
| |
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(2) | If the Secretary of State considers that an action capable of being taken by the |
| |
Welsh Ministers is required for the purposes of giving effect to any |
| |
international obligation, the Secretary of State may by order direct the Welsh |
| |
Ministers to take the action. |
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(3) | If the Secretary of State considers that any subordinate legislation made, or |
| 30 |
which could be revoked, by the Welsh Ministers is incompatible with any |
| |
international obligation or the interests of defence or national security, the |
| |
Secretary of State may by order revoke the legislation. |
| |
(4) | An order under subsection (3) may include provision for the order to have |
| |
effect from a date earlier than that on which it is made; but— |
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(a) | such a provision does not affect any rights or liabilities acquired or |
| |
incurred before the date on which the order is made, and |
| |
(b) | no person is to be guilty of an offence merely because of such a |
| |
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(5) | The Secretary of State may make an order containing provision such as is |
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specified in subsection (6) where— |
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(a) | an international obligation is an obligation to achieve a result defined |
| |
by reference to a quantity (whether expressed as an amount, proportion |
| |
or ratio or otherwise), and |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(b) | the quantity relates to the United Kingdom (or to an area including the |
| |
United Kingdom or to an area consisting of a part of the United |
| |
Kingdom which includes the whole or part of Wales). |
| |
(6) | The provision referred to in subsection (5) is provision for the achievement by |
| |
the Welsh Ministers (in the exercise of their functions) of so much of the result |
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to be achieved under the international obligation as is specified in the order. |
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(7) | The order may specify the time by which any part of the result to be achieved |
| |
by the Welsh Ministers is to be achieved. |
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(8) | Where an order under subsection (5) is in force in relation to an international |
| |
obligation, references to the international obligation in subsection (1) to (3) are |
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to an obligation to achieve so much of the result to be achieved under the |
| |
international obligation as is specified in the order by the time or times so |
| |
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(9) | No order is to be made by the Secretary of State under subsections (2), (3) or (5) |
| |
unless the Secretary of State has consulted the Welsh Ministers. |
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(10) | An order under this section must state the reasons for making it. |
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(11) | A statutory instrument containing— |
| |
(a) | subject to subsection (12), an order under subsection (1), or |
| |
(b) | an order under subsection (5), |
| |
| is (unless a draft of the statutory instrument has been approved by a resolution |
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of each House of Parliament) subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution |
| |
of either House of Parliament. |
| |
(12) | A statutory instrument containing only an order under subsection (1) revoking |
| |
a previous order under that subsection— |
| |
(a) | is not subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House |
| 25 |
| |
(b) | is to be laid before Parliament. |
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(13) | No order is to be made under subsection (2) or (3) unless a draft of the statutory |
| |
instrument containing it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, |
| |
each House of Parliament. |
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(14) | Subsections (1), (2) and (3) apply to the First Minister and the Counsel General |
| |
as to the Welsh Ministers; and where subsection (9) operates in relation to an |
| |
order under subsection (2) or (3) relating to the First Minister or the Counsel |
| |
General the reference in subsection (9) to the Welsh Ministers is to the First |
| |
Minister or the Counsel General. |
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(15) | In this section “action” includes making, confirming or approving subordinate |
| |
legislation and in subsection (2) also includes introducing into the Assembly a |
| |
proposed Assembly Measure or a Bill. |
| |
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82 | Agency arrangements and provision of services |
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(1) | Arrangements may be made between the Welsh Ministers and any relevant |
| |
| |
(a) | any functions of one of them to be exercised by the other, |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(b) | any functions of the Welsh Ministers to be exercised by members of |
| |
staff of the relevant authority, |
| |
(c) | any functions of the relevant authority to be exercised by members of |
| |
the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government, or |
| |
(d) | the provision of administrative, professional or technical services by |
| 5 |
one of them for the other. |
| |
(2) | Any arrangements under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) for the |
| |
exercise of functions of the Welsh Ministers do not affect the responsibility of |
| |
the Welsh Ministers; and such arrangements for the exercise of any functions |
| |
of a relevant authority do not affect the responsibility of the relevant authority. |
| 10 |
(3) | The references in subsections (1) and (2) to functions do not include functions |
| |
of making, confirming or approving subordinate legislation contained in a |
| |
| |
(4) | In this section “relevant authority” means any Minister of the Crown or |
| |
government department, any public authority (including any local authority) |
| 15 |
in England and Wales or the holder of any public office in England and Wales. |
| |
(5) | This section applies to the First Minister and the Counsel General as to the |
| |
| |
83 | Different exercise of functions by Welsh Ministers etc. |
| |
(1) | This section applies where— |
| 20 |
(a) | an enactment confers or imposes a function exercisable in relation to |
| |
| |
(b) | the function is to any extent conferred or imposed on the Welsh |
| |
Ministers by the enactment or transferred to, or made exercisable by, |
| |
the Welsh Ministers by or by virtue of this Act. |
| 25 |
(2) | The enactment is to be taken to permit— |
| |
(a) | the exercise of the function by the Welsh Ministers whether or not it is |
| |
exercised otherwise than by the Welsh Ministers, and |
| |
(b) | the exercise of the function differently by the Welsh Ministers (on the |
| |
one hand) and otherwise than by the Welsh Ministers (on the other). |
| 30 |
(3) | The reference in subsection (1)(a) to a function exercisable in relation to |
| |
England and Wales includes a function exercisable in relation both to England |
| |
and Wales and to another country or territory or other countries or territories. |
| |
(4) | Subsection (2) is subject to— |
| |
(a) | the enactment by which the function is conferred or imposed on the |
| 35 |
| |
(b) | any provision by or by virtue of which the function is transferred to, or |
| |
made exercisable by, the Welsh Ministers. |
| |
(5) | Subsection (2) does not limit any power to exercise a function in relation to |
| |
Wales whether or not it is exercised in relation to England, or to exercise a |
| 40 |
function differently in relation to Wales and England, where this section does |
| |
| |
(6) | In this section “enactment” includes a future enactment. |
| |
(7) | This section applies in relation to the First Minister and the Counsel General as |
| |
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|
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