The British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) is an

intergovernmental organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

established by the Governments of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

under the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

in 1998. It first met in London in 1999, and the latest meeting took place at Lancaster House in London on 7 October 2022. When the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

is suspended, devolved matters revert to the BIIGC's remit. The BIIGC guarantees the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The govern ...

a say in areas of bilateral co-operation and on those matters not yet

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

to the

or the

North/South Ministerial Council sco, North South Meinisterlie Council , bgcolor = , fgcolor = , image = North-South_Ministerial_Council_logo.jpg , image_border = , size = , alt = Logo of the North/South Ministerial Council , ca ...

. The BIIGC is normally chaired by the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

.Taoiseach's website
/ref> Provision is made however for meetings at summit level, i.e. between the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

and Prime Minister, as required. Summit meetings of the BIIGC took place in 1999, 2005 and 2018. There is also provision under the Belfast Agreement for Members of the Legislative Assembly to be involved in the intergovernmental conference but they do not have the power to block decisions taken by the two governments.

History

The establishment of the BIIGC was provided for under Strand Three of the Good Friday Agreement, signed on 8 March 1998. The inaugural meeting took place at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...

on 17 December 1999 and was chaired by Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

and

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

and attended by representatives of the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

and the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...

. The BIIGC replaced the Anglo-Irish Conference which was established under Article 2 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, the BIIGC is supported by officials of the British and Irish Governments, including a standing Joint Secretariat of officials dealing with non-devolved Northern Ireland matters. The BIIGC secretariat has approximately 21 staff (10 for the British side, 11 for the Irish side).Hansard, 14 July 2008: Column WA103 The staff comprise a mix of grades from senior civil servants to administrative support grades.

Devolved matters

In respect of bilateral co-operation these include: *Asylum and immigration, including

Common Travel Area The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...

issues *

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

and international issues *Social security including methods of fraud detection *Education *Policy on misuse of drugs: combating organised crime and associated money laundering *Fiscal issues

Non-devolved matters

In respect of non-devolved matters issues include: *Rights *Policing, including implementation of the Patten Report *Criminal justice *Normalisation of security arrangements and practices *Cross-border security co-operation *Victims of violence *Prison issues *Drugs and drug trafficking *Broadcasting

Criminal justice co-operation

Under an international agreement between the UK and Ireland on "Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters" signed in 2005, the Northern Ireland minister responsible for justice reports to the BIIGC on certain matters. This is because the Agreement provides that the Ministers of the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministers") responsible for criminal justice matters in the two jurisdictions (Ireland and Northern Ireland) shall meet at least annually for the purpose of facilitating more effective co-operation and co-ordination on criminal justice matters, including in combating criminal behaviour, working together in the prevention of crime and on community safety issues, and dealing with offenders after conviction. Such meetings shall be referred to hereinafter as Ministerial Meetings on criminal justice co-operation. The Agreement provides that such meetings shall operate under the auspices of, and be accountable to, the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

Meetings

The following is a list of meetings of the BIIGC: *1–17 December 1999 (Summit Level Meeting) *2–22 October 2002 *3–18 December 2002 *4–20 May 2003 *5–2 July 2003 *6–18 September 2003 *7–22 January 2004 *8–21 April 2004 *9–7 July 2004 *10–15 December 2004 *11–2 March 2005 *12–27 June 2005 (Summit Level Meeting) *13–19 October 2005 *14–1 February 2006 *15–2 May 2006 *16–25 July 2006 *17–24 October 2006 *18–26 February 2007 *25 July 2018 *2 November 2018 *8 May 2019 *24 June 2021 *2 December 2021 *23 March 2022 *7 October 2022

References

External links

Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland establishing a British-Irish Intergovernmental ConferenceIrish Government – British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Government of Northern Ireland Politics of the Republic of Ireland Ireland–United Kingdom relations Northern Ireland peace process Politics of the British Isles 1998 establishments in the United Kingdom 1998 establishments in Ireland