Committee on Standards and Privileges

Inquiry on the appointment of an Assembly Commissioner for Standards, on maintaining the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members (The Code of Conduct), and on handling alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct

Terms of Reference

The Aim of the Inquiry is to establish the most appropriate means of maintaining the Code of Conduct and handling alleged breaches in relation to it.

In doing so the Committee will consider:

• What the role, responsibilities and powers of an Assembly Commissioner for Standards should be;
• whether the position of an Assembly Commissioner for Standards should be placed on a statutory basis;
• how an Assembly Commissioner for Standards should be appointed;
• what the terms and conditions of any appointment might be;
• what the role of the Committee on Standards and Privileges should be in dealing with alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct; and
• what the role of the Assembly should be in dealing with alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.