Download The Good Friday Agreement

The conference will take the form of regular and frequent meetings between the British and Irish ministers to promote cooperation between the two governments at all levels. On issues that are not left to Northern Ireland, the Irish Government may present positions and proposals. All decisions of the Conference shall be taken by mutual agreement between the two Governments and the two Governments agree to make determined efforts to resolve disputes between them. The multi-party agreement is an agreement between the British Government, the Irish Government and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland. It sets out the support of the signatory parties under the terms of the Agreement between the Republic and Ireland and constitutes the framework for various political institutions. It is divided into three parts: the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was signed on Good Friday, on 10 April 1998. It consists of two closely related agreements, the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the Multiparty Agreement. It led to the establishment of a de decentralised system of government in Northern Ireland and the creation of many new institutions such as the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, the North South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council. The vague wording of some provisions, called “constructive ambiguities”[8], helped to secure acceptance of the agreement and postpone debate on some of the most controversial issues. These include paramilitary dismantling, police reform and the standardisation of Northern Ireland.

The agreement establishes a framework for the establishment and number of institutions in three “policy areas”. The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, in 1998, during the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, voters were asked whether they supported the multi-party agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, voters were asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and authorize the necessary constitutional amendments (Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland) to facilitate it. The two lawyers had to approve the agreement for it to enter into force. The multi-party agreement forced the parties to “use any influence they might have” to secure the dismantling of all paramilitary weapons within two years of referendums to approve the agreement. The standardisation process forced the British government to reduce the number and role of its armed forces in Northern Ireland “to a level compatible with a normal peaceful society”. These include the removal of security facilities and the lifting of special emergency powers in Northern Ireland. .