Abstract
On 22 May, it received the overwhelming endorsement of the people of Ireland in referendums, North and South. For the first time, a precise mechanism has been defined - and accepted by the British Government - by which a united Ireland can be put in place, by the consent of Irish people and that alone. This involves setting up a new North-South Ministerial Council to develop consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland on matters of mutual interest and establishing, as a start, at least six implementation bodies operating on a cross-border or all-island basis. The people, North and South, have endorsed the Agreement, including its constitutional provisions, in overwhelming numbers; elections to the Assembly in Northern Ireland have taken place and the Assembly has met; arrangements for reviewing prisoners' sentences are in place, the programme of prisoner releases is at an advanced stage; the Commission on Policing has, for some months now, been proceeding with its programme of work and almost all prisoners in Britain have been transferred.
Recommended Citation
Bertie Ahern,
The Good Friday Agreement: An Overview,
22 Fordham Int'l L.J. 1196
(1998).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol22/iss4/5