Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973
Encyclopedia
The Northern Ireland Act 1973 was an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
which abolished the death penalty for murder in Northern Ireland
, and established the Diplock courts
in which terrorist
offences were tried by a judge without a jury
. It has mostly been repealed, the anti-terrorism provisions having been superseded by subsequent legislation. The death penalty had not been used in Northern Ireland since 1961, when Robert McGladdery
was hanged.
The Act banned membership under penalty of law in the following organizations:
The subsequent Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989
would require oaths renouncing these organizations.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
which abolished the death penalty for murder in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and established the Diplock courts
Diplock courts
The Diplock courts were a type of court established by the Government of the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland on 8 August 1973, in an attempt to overcome widespread jury intimidation associated with the Troubles. The right to trial by jury was suspended for certain "scheduled offences" and the...
in which terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
offences were tried by a judge without a jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
. It has mostly been repealed, the anti-terrorism provisions having been superseded by subsequent legislation. The death penalty had not been used in Northern Ireland since 1961, when Robert McGladdery
Robert McGladdery
Robert Andrew McGladdery was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland.He battered, strangled and stabbed Pearl Gamble, aged 19, on 28 January 1961 and left her body at Upper Damolly, near Newry, County Down....
was hanged.
The Act banned membership under penalty of law in the following organizations:
- Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
- Cumann na mBanCumann na mBanCumann na mBan is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers...
- Fianna ÉireannFianna ÉireannThe name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...
- Saor ÉireSaor ÉireSaor Éire was a left-wing political organisation established in September 1931 by communist-leaning members of the Irish Republican Army, with the backing of the IRA leadership. Notable among its founders was Peadar O'Donnell, former editor of An Phoblacht and a leading left-wing figure in the...
- Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
- Ulster Volunteer Force
The subsequent Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989
Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989
The Elected Authorities Act 1989 was a law that required candidates for election in local and Northern Ireland Assembly declare they would not, by word or deed, express support for or approval of proscribed organisations or acts of terrorism .It had the effect of disqualifying numerous candidates...
would require oaths renouncing these organizations.