Part of Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 31 January 2002.
I appreciate the Minister's intervention. I shall read the record of our proceedings very carefully, not because I disagree with what he says, but simply to clarify it in my head.
The listed judicial offices are those set out in schedule 1, and they are the less senior judicial appointments, including, regrettably, those to the High Court. The points that I raised in relation to clause 4 are even more pertinent to clause 5. The clause provides that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will have the power, provided that they act jointly, to make appointments to at least 34—I hope I am right—different levels of the judiciary. That is a huge number of appointments. I do not intend to rehearse my concerns again but we must face the reality that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will not always agree. Will the Minister resolve that issue?