{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-elections-act-1998-repealed-2121999/section-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-elections-act-1998-repealed-2121999/section-4.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1998/12",
  "legislation_title": "Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998 (repealed 2.12.1999)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/northern-ireland-elections-act-1998-repealed-2121999",
  "path": "section/4",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Disqualification.",
  "text": "(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) a person is disqualified for membership of the Assembly if he is disqualified for membership of the House of Commons, whether under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 or otherwise.\n(2) A person who is Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant or Lieutenant for a county or county borough in Northern Ireland is disqualified for membership of the Assembly for a constituency comprising the whole or part of the county or county borough.\n(3) A person is not disqualified for membership of the Assembly by reason only—\n(a) that he is a peer (other than a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary), or\n(b) that he is a member of the Seanad Eireann (Senate of the Republic of Ireland).\n(4) A person is not disqualified for membership of the Assembly by reason only that he is disqualified under section 3 of the Act of Settlement (certain persons born out of the Kingdom) if he is a citizen of a Member State of the European Communities.\n(4A) A Sentence Review Commissioner is disqualified for membership of the Assembly.\n(5) If a person who is disqualified under this section is returned as a member of the Assembly his election is void.\n(6) If a member becomes disqualified under this section his seat shall be vacated.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 4(4A) inserted (28.7.1998) by 1998 c. 35, s. 1, Sch. 1 para. 9; S.I. 1998/1858, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M1",
      "text": "1975 c. 24."
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M2",
      "text": "1700 c. 2."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/12/section/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:23:09.778073+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."
}