Clause 4 - Appointment to most senior judicial offices
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
4:00 pm
I thank the hon. Lady. She is, in effect, suggesting a rewriting of the Good Friday agreement. The reality is that the joint running of Northern Ireland by the Unionist and nationalist communities is at the heart of the agreement. I make no bones about it. We should not be surprised that that fact is reflected in every piece of Northern Ireland legislation, including the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, the Bill—almost—and whatever future legislation crops up. Yes, it would be easier—God knows, it would be easier, I know that—
if we did not need there to be agreement between the First and Deputy First Ministers. Without it, however, there would be no Assembly, no Administration and no hope that responsibility for appointing judges would ever return to the devolved Administration in the north of Ireland. That is the price that we must pay, and everything has a price.
Let me expand a little on the practicalities. It is not as if there is an unlimited number of people from among whom choices could be made, but choices are made every day of the week on other matters. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister make decisions about the budget, and decisions are made about the implementation bodies in the context of north-south business. Hon. Members will remember what a hot potato that was, although I say ''was'' because the arrangements are now working. I have no doubt that there will be moments of difficultly when the Bill is enacted, but I also have no doubt that they will be overcome through agreement and compromise, which is the only way in which the process can work. Compromise is not a pleasant word in Northern Ireland, but that is what is needed. Office holders and everyone involved in the Northern Ireland Assembly must recognise that the system will not work at any level unless there is a capacity for compromise. It would be much easier if that were not the case, but then the present arrangements would not exist.