{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/departments-northern-ireland-order-1999/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/departments-northern-ireland-order-1999/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1999/283",
  "legislation_title": "The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/departments-northern-ireland-order-1999",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) The 1954 c. 33 (N.I.). Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.\n(2) In this Order—\n“department” means a Northern Ireland department;\n“Minister”, in relation to a department, means—\n(a)in the case of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, the First Minister and the deputy First Minister acting jointly;\n(b)in the case of any other department, the Minister in charge of that department;\n“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the 1954 c. 33 (N.I.). Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.\n(3) References in this Order to a senior officer of a department are references to a person who is employed in that department and is—\n(a) a member of the Northern Ireland senior civil service; or\n(b) a member of the Northern Ireland civil service designated by the department as a senior officer for the purposes of this Order.\n(4) If, and to the extent that, a determination under section 19 of the 1998 c. 47. Northern Ireland Act 1998 so provides, the functions exercisable under this Order by a senior officer of a department shall also be exercisable by a junior Minister; but nothing in this Order authorises ajunior Minister to exercise functions otherwise than in accordance with the terms of such a determination.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Art. 2 modified (12.4.2024) by The Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/404), regs. 1(2), 3(5)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1999/283/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:40:47.833677+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}