Committee for Justice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Committee for Justice is a Northern Ireland Assembly committee established to advise, assist and scrutinise the work of the Department of Justice and the Minister of Justice (currently Naomi Long).[1] The Committee undertakes a scrutiny, policy development and consultation role with respect to the Department of Justice and plays a key role in the consideration and development of legislation.
The committee was created following the devolution of policing and justice on 12 April 2010, as a result of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, agreed under the premiership of Gordon Brown on 5 February 2010.[2]
Membership
Membership of the committee is as follows:
| Party | Member[3] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Paul Frew MLA (Chairperson) | North Antrim | |
| Sinn Féin | Deirdre Hargey MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | Belfast South | |
| Sinn Féin | Danny Baker MLA | Belfast West | |
| UUP | Doug Beattie MLA | Upper Bann | |
| DUP | Maurice Bradley MLA | East Londonderry | |
| DUP | Stephen Dunne MLA | North Down | |
| Alliance | Connie Egan MLA | North Down | |
| Sinn Féin | Ciara Ferguson MLA | Foyle | |
| SDLP | Patsy McGlone MLA | Mid Ulster | |
2022–2027 Assembly
The committee met for the first time in the 2022–2027 Assembly on 15 February 2024.
| Party | Member[4] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Joanne Bunting MLA (Chairperson) | Belfast East | |
| Sinn Féin | Deirdre Hargey MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | Belfast South | |
| UUP | Doug Beattie MLA | Upper Bann | |
| DUP | Maurice Bradley MLA | East Londonderry | |
| Alliance | Stewart Dickson MLA | East Antrim | |
| Ind. Unionist | Alex Easton MLA | North Down | |
| Sinn Féin | Sinéad Ennis MLA | South Down | |
| Sinn Féin | Ciara Ferguson MLA | Foyle | |
| SDLP | Justin McNulty MLA | Newry and Armagh | |
Changes 2022–2027
2017–2022 Assembly
The committee met for the first time in the 2017–2022 Assembly on 22 January 2020.[5]
| Party | Member[6] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Paul Givan MLA (Chairperson) | Lagan Valley | |
| Sinn Féin | Linda Dillon MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | Mid Ulster | |
| UUP | Doug Beattie MLA | Upper Bann | |
| DUP | Gordon Dunne MLA | North Down | |
| DUP | Paul Frew MLA | North Antrim | |
| Sinn Féin | Raymond McCartney MLA | Foyle | |
| SDLP | Patsy McGlone MLA | Mid Ulster | |
| Sinn Féin | Pat Sheehan MLA | Belfast West | |
| Green (NI) | Rachel Woods MLA | North Down | |
Changes 2017–2022
| Date | Outgoing member and party | Constituency | → | New member and party | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 February 2020 | Raymond McCartney MLA (Sinn Féin) | Foyle | → | Vacant | |||
| 17 February 2020 | Vacant | → | Martina Anderson MLA (Sinn Féin) | Foyle | |||
| 9 March 2020 | Martina Anderson MLA (Sinn Féin) | Foyle | → | Emma Rogan MLA (Sinn Féin) | South Down | ||
| 16 March 2020 | Pat Sheehan MLA (Sinn Féin) | Belfast West | → | Jemma Dolan MLA (Sinn Féin) | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | ||
| 26 May 2020 | Patsy McGlone MLA (SDLP) | Mid Ulster | → | Sinéad Bradley MLA (SDLP) | South Down | ||
| 3 November 2020 | Karen Mullan MLA (Sinn Féin) | Foyle | → | Pat Sheehan MLA (Sinn Féin) | Belfast West | ||
| 14 June 2021 | Paul Givan MLA (Chairperson, DUP) | Lagan Valley | → | Mervyn Storey MLA (Chairperson, DUP) | North Antrim | ||
| 21 June 2021 | Paul Frew MLA (DUP) | North Antrim | → | Robin Newton MLA (DUP) | Belfast North | ||
| Gordon Dunne MLA (DUP) | North Down | Peter Weir MLA (DUP) | Strangford | ||||
| 2 August 2021 | Linda Dillon MLA (Deputy Chairperson, Sinn Féin) | Mid Ulster | → | Sinéad Ennis MLA (Deputy Chairperson, Sinn Féin) | South Down | ||
Source:[7]
2016–2017 Assembly
The committee met for the first time in the 2016–2017 Assembly on 1 June 2016.[8]
| Party | Member[9] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Paul Frew MLA (Chairperson) | North Antrim | |
| DUP | Pam Cameron MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | South Antrim | |
| SDLP | Alex Attwood MLA | Belfast West | |
| Green (NI) | Clare Bailey MLA | Belfast South | |
| UUP | Doug Beattie MLA | Upper Bann | |
| UUP | Roy Beggs Jr MLA | East Antrim | |
| Sinn Féin | Michaela Boyle MLA | West Tyrone | |
| DUP | Sammy Douglas MLA | Belfast East | |
| Sinn Féin | Declan Kearney MLA | South Antrim | |
| Alliance | Trevor Lunn MLA | Lagan Valley | |
| Sinn Féin | Pat Sheehan MLA | Belfast West | |
2011–2016 Assembly
The committee met for the first time in the 2011–2016 Assembly on 26 May 2011.[10]
| Party | Member[11] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Paul Givan MLA (Chairperson) | Lagan Valley | |
| Sinn Féin | Raymond McCartney MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | Foyle | |
| DUP | Sydney Anderson MLA | Upper Bann | |
| Alliance | Stewart Dickson MLA | East Antrim | |
| SDLP | Colum Eastwood MLA | Foyle | |
| Sinn Féin | Seán Lynch MLA | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
| SDLP | Alban Maginness MLA | Belfast North | |
| Sinn Féin | Jennifer McCann MLA | Belfast West | |
| UUP | Basil McCrea MLA | Lagan Valley | |
| DUP | Peter Weir MLA | North Down | |
| DUP | Jim Wells MLA | South Down | |
Changes 2011–2016
2007–2011 Assembly
The committee met for the first time in the 2007–2011 Assembly on 22 April 2010.[12]
| Party | Member[13] | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Maurice Morrow MLA (Chairperson) | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
| Sinn Féin | Raymond McCartney MLA (Deputy Chairperson) | Foyle | |
| DUP | Jonathan Bell MLA | Strangford | |
| DUP | Jeffrey Donaldson MLA | Lagan Valley | |
| UUP | Tom Elliott MLA | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
| DUP | Jeffrey Donaldson MLA | Lagan Valley | |
| SDLP | Dolores Kelly MLA | Upper Bann | |
| SDLP | Alban Maginness MLA | Belfast North | |
| UUP | David McNarry MLA | Strangford | |
| Sinn Féin | Carál Ní Chuilín MLA | Belfast North | |
| DUP | Alastair Ross MLA | East Antrim | |
Changes 2007–2011
| Date | Outgoing member and party | Constituency | → | New member and party | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May 2010 | Dolores Kelly MLA (SDLP) | Upper Bann | → | Conall McDevitt MLA (SDLP) | Belfast South | ||
| 10 June 2010 | Jeffrey Donaldson MLA (DUP) | Lagan Valley | → | Vacant | |||
| 25 June 2010 | Alastair Ross MLA (DUP) | East Antrim | → | Vacant | |||
| 28 June 2010 | Vacant | → | Paul Givan MLA (DUP) | Lagan Valley | |||
| 21 July 2010 | Jonathan Bell MLA (DUP) | Strangford | → | Vacant | |||
| 14 September 2009 | Vacant | → | Wallace Browne MLA (DUP) | Belfast East | |||
| Vacant | Tom Buchanan MLA (DUP) | West Tyrone | |||||
| 9 November 2010 | Tom Elliott MLA (UUP) | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | → | Reg Empey MLA (UUP) | Belfast East | ||