Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (Assembly Standards) Bill
[AS INTRODUCED]
Contents
- Investigations into conduct, interests and privileges of members
- Supplementary
- Interpretation
- Short title
A
B I L L
TO
Extend the powers of the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland to include certain matters concerning the conduct, interests and privileges of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and related matters; and for connected purposes.
BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by Her Majesty as follows:
Investigations into conduct, interests and privileges of members
1. — (1) Subject to subsection (3) below, the Assembly Ombudsman may carry out an investigation into any matter to which this section applies.
(2) This section applies to —
(a) matters relating to the conduct of members of the Assembly;
(b) complaints about members of the Assembly made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests under standing orders under section 43 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47);
(c) matters with respect to which, but for the provisions of section 50 of that Act, questions of defamation or contempt of court may arise; and
(d) any matters similar to those referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) above which are specified in standing orders of the Assembly as being ones to which this section is to apply.
(3) The Assembly Ombudsman may only carry out an investigation under this section at the request of such a committee of the Assembly as may be specified for the purposes of this section in or under standing orders of the Assembly.
(4) In any case where the Assembly Ombudsman carries out an investigation under this section, he shall send a report of the results of the investigation to the committee of the Assembly which requested the report; but no such report may include a recommendation for any sanction or penalty to be imposed upon any member of the Assembly.
(5) In carrying out an investigation under this section into matters relating to the conduct of members of the Assembly, the Assembly Ombudsman shall have regard amongst other matters to any code of conduct or other guidance to which the Assembly has agreed or which the Assembly has approved.
(6) The Assembly Ombudsman shall not, in carrying out an investigation under this section, be subject to the direction or control of the Assembly.
Supplementary
2.— (1) For the purposes of the law of defamation, absolute privilege shall attach to¾
(a) any communication between any member of the Assembly or its officers and the Assembly Ombudsman or his officers in connection with an investigation or proposed investigation under section 1 above; and
(b) the making of any report by the Assembly Ombudsman under section 1 above.
(2) In subsection (1)(a) above, the reference to officers of the Assembly Ombudsman includes a reference to officers of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints.
(3) Articles 6(3) and 7 of the Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (NI 8) shall apply for the purposes of the functions of the Assembly Ombudsman under section 1 above as they apply for the purposes of the functions of the Assembly Ombudsman under that Order.
Interpretation
3. In this Act -
"the Assembly" means the Northern Ireland Assembly; and
"the Assembly Ombudsman" means the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
Short title
4. This Act may be cited as the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (Assembly Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002.