Good Friday Agreement

the agreement between the British and Irish governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland reached on 10 April 1998 in Belfast following lengthy talks. The purpose of the agreement is to deal with relations between the two communities in Northern Ireland; relations between the two parts of Ireland; and between Ireland north and south and the other parts of the British Isles. All parties undertook to renounce violence and to use their influence to ensure that weapons were decommissioned. A 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly was to be created, as well as a North-South Council to discuss matters of mutual interest to Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and a British-Irish Council that would be a forum for all the jurisdictions in the British Isles. The Irish government undertook to remove the clauses in its Constitution that claimed jurisdiction over Northern Ireland, and all parties agreed that the constitutional status of Northern Ireland could be changed only by the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. It replaced the 1985 ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT.

Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006

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References in periodicals archive

The Congressional Friends of Ireland, a group in the US Congress which supports and promotes peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, has written to Boris Johnson warning that it will oppose any US-UK trade deal if it risks undermining the Good Friday Agreement.

US Trade Deal 'Highly Unlikely' With Hard Irish Border

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended the Northern Ireland conflict, which broke out in the 1960s.

Pelosi Vows No UK Free Trade Deal If Brexit Risks Peace in Ireland

THERE is "no chance" of a US-UK trade deal succeeding if Brexit jeopardises the Good Friday Agreement, the speaker of the US House of Representatives has warned.

Pelosi in warning over NI border

She added: "If the British Government have factored into their calculations a hard border, then they must factor in a unity referendum as laid out in the Good Friday Agreement.

SF: Unity poll if Brits crash out

A KEY architect of the Good Friday Agreement has warned that the peace treaty will be destroyed by the Northern Ireland backstop still being pushed by the EU.

Backdrop 'will destroy' Good Friday treaty

Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady The Government was "too pliant" in accepting the EU's argument that the Irish backstop was the only way to protect the Good Friday Agreement, Sir Graham Brady has said.

May is too pliant on backstop, says Brady

Most of us in the rest of the UK too often take Northern Ireland's peace for granted and rarely think much about the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement each year.

Lyra murder shows fragility of NI peace; SM1 Labour MP and Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee YVETTE COOPER

THE Good Friday Agreement was hard won after 30 years of conflict.

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Theresa May is facing a massive backlash over claims she could rewrite parts of the Good Friday Agreement to solveBrexit.

Brexit: Tories branded 'reckless and dangerous' over Good Friday Agreement claim; No10 dismissed the claim the GFA could be rewritten as "nonsense" - as MPs rounded on it as "reckless, dangerous and bonkers"

The chairman of the Good Friday Agreement negotiations had required a commitment to non-violence and democracy from all the parties before entering dialogue, one which endures today.

Peace 'must not be taken for granted'