Repeal of the Government of Ireland Act 1920

paky

Under the terms of the good friday agreement the Government of ireland act of 1920 was repealed.
Can anyone tell me what difference this makes since the institutions which are in place today were formed after the act coming into place?

jonniebgood1

Part of the agreement saw the patten commission which ended the RUC and set up a new police service. There were also new cross border initiatives which were not in the 4th home rule bill, these may not have much power but they give a more equal balance to rule over the north. i.e. government is devolved to the politicians in the north with control over there own day to day affairs. London has control over purse strings and Dublin has a consultancy role which will probably grow over time and limited monetary input (very limited at the moment id say). Mostly I would say the repeal was about the optics of perceived change to satisfy the politicians who needed to show that they had made important changes in keeping with their beliefs. Some of the more important institutional changes are shown here

The Agreement provided for the establishment of new institutions, across three “Strands”:

an Assembly and Executive within Northern Ireland to exercise partnership government based on equality (Strand I)
a North/South Ministerial Council to develop co-operation and action within the island of Ireland (Strand II)
a British-Irish Council to promote mutually beneficial East/West relationships. (Strand III)
It also included measures to uphold the protection of human rights and equality and to deal with the consequences of conflict. In addition, it mapped the way forward with major new initiatives in the crucial areas of policing and justice.

The Agreement is clear on the special constitutional position of Northern Ireland. It underlines the legitimacy of seeking a United Ireland and it also recognises that it is the current legitimate wish of a majority of people in Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Most importantly, it enshrines the principle of consent, clearly stating “that it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively and without external impediment, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a United Ireland, accepting that this right must be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland”.

http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=335

It needs to be considered that the 1920 act had been changed in the 1970's to reflect the troubles with direct rule from London being legislated for at that time. Thus changes to the 1920 act were also repealed.