Guidance

The Fourth Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly

This command paper sets out the use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

• From: Northern Ireland Office
• Published: 11 February 2022

Applies to Northern Ireland

Documents

The Fourth Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly

PDF, 228 KB, 8 pages

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Details

The Petition of Concern (PoC) is a mechanism whereby 30 MLAs can petition the Assembly requiring a matter to be passed on a cross-community rather than a simple majority basis. Under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, it is one of the ‘safeguards’ in Strand One as a mechanism “to ensure key decisions [in the Assembly] are taken on cross-community basis”.

Published 11 February 2022