director of public prosecutions document

The Prosecution of Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 was made and came into operation on 30^th March 1972. This was done under the urgent procedure contained in paragraph 4(1) of the Schedule to the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 whereby an Order in Council could be made by the Queen without first having it approved by either House if it had been deemed urgent enough. It then became necessary to have the Order approved by both Houses within forty days else the Order would cease to have effect.

The Order was first considered in the House of Lords on 1 May 1972, and was approved after a short debate. The three main advantages of the introduction of the new system were outlined by Lord Windlesham as follows:

‘1. It would be centralisation with a national prosecutions department being created;

2. The new department, being independent, would not be open to the same allegations of bias which had been directed against those previously concerned with the initiation and conduct of prosecutions in Northern Ireland;

3. The RUC would be relieved of the onerous burden of conducting summary prosecutions, eventually only being responsible for proceedings in cases of a minor nature.’¹

The Order was considered for one and a half hours in the House of Commons on 8 May 1972 utilising a procedure whereby the House could not amend the Order, only accept or reject it in toto. The greatest criticism in the House of Commons about the contents of the Order was the provision for the removal of the Director or his Deputy. Sir Elwyn Jones pointed out that the removal of these individuals from office by the government/governor upon the advice of the Privy Council for Northern Ireland was not necessarily reassuring in light of recent political history here. He was placated by the Attorney General’s reference to the assurance given by the former Attorney General for Northern Ireland that if the governments advice were ever sought by the Governor it would advise summoning a Council in which judges and ex-judges were in the majority. It was also pointed out that the situation was changed by virtue of s.1(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972. The functions granted to the Governor or the Governor in Council were during the interim period to be discharged by the Secretary of State, and it was therefore in the power of the Secretary of State to dismiss the Director. This position, however, changed on 1 January 1974, with the powers of appointment and dismissal of the Director and his Deputy being vested in the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. Overall, the Bill received a good reception in the House with a general acceptance of the desirability of an office of Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland. And, with the approval of the House on 8 May 1972 ‘Northern Ireland now had a system of public prosecutions specifically designed to meet its own particular needs’.

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Introduction to director of public prosecutions document