As part of the agreement, the British Parliament annulled the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (which had founded Northern Ireland, divided Ireland and asserted territorial rights to the whole of Ireland) and the people of the Republic of Ireland amended Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution, which asserted a territorial right to Northern Ireland. Political parties in Northern Ireland, which endorsed the agreement, were also invited to consider the creation of an independent advisory forum, with members of civil society with social, cultural, economic and other expertise, and appointed by both administrations. In 2002, a framework for the North-South Consultation Forum was agreed, and in 2006 the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to support its establishment. The overall result of these problems was to undermine unionists` confidence in the agreement exploited by the anti-deal DUP, which eventually overtook the pro-deal Unionist Party (UUP) in the 2003 parliamentary elections. The UUP had already resigned from the power-sharing executive in 2002 following the Stormontgate scandal, which implicated three men for gathering intelligence. These charges were eventually dropped in 2005 on the controversial grounds that the persecution was not “in the public interest”. Immediately afterwards, one of the incriminated members of Sinn Féin, Denis Donaldson, was unmasked as a British agent. 2. The Participants also note that, as part of this comprehensive political agreement, both governments have undertaken to amend the Irish Constitution or the Irish Constitution. to propose and support UK legislation on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. (iii) in an appropriate format to discuss institutional or cross-sectoral issues (including as regards the EU) and to settle disputes. 4.

In the meantime, aspects of the implementation of the multi-party agreement shall be reviewed, where appropriate, by the parties concerned (taking into account the results of those elections), under the chairmanship of the UK Government or of both governments, as appropriate; Representatives of both governments and all parties concerned may meet under an independent chairmanship to verify the overall implementation of the Agreement. (iv) to take consensual decisions on policies and measures at interseses and cross-border level, to be implemented by the bodies to be implemented in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9. The British Government is practically out of the equation and neither the British Parliament nor the people have, under this agreement, the legal right to hinder the achievement of Irish unity if it had the agreement of the people of the North and the South. Our nation is and will remain a nation of 32 counties. Antrim and Down are and will remain a part of Ireland, just like any county in the South. [20] The agreement contained a complex set of provisions relating to a number of areas, the agreement of which was approved by voters throughout 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 allow the necessary constitutional amendments (Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland) to facilitate it. . . .