Parliament of Northern Ireland in the context of "Direct rule over Northern Ireland"

The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (Irish: An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the government of the Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. It provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State within a year as a self-governing dominion within the "community of nations known as the British Empire", a status "the same as that of the Dominion of Canada". It also provided Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, an option to opt out of the Irish Free State (Article 12), which was exercised by the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

The agreement was signed in London on 6 December 1921, by representatives of the British government (which included Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who was head of the British delegates, and Winston Churchill, who was Secretary of State for the Colonies) and by representatives of the government of the Irish Republic (which included Michael Collins, who was Secretary of State for Finance, and Arthur Griffith, who was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs). The Irish representatives had plenipotentiary status (negotiators empowered to sign a treaty without reference back to their superiors) acting on behalf of the Irish Republic, though the British government declined to recognise that status. As required by its terms, the agreement was approved by "a meeting" of the members elected to sit in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and [separately] by the British Parliament. In reality, Dáil Éireann (the legislative assembly for the de facto Irish Republic) first debated then approved the treaty; members then went ahead with the "meeting". Though the treaty was narrowly approved, the split led to the Irish Civil War, which was won by the pro-treaty side.

The Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the interpretation of acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subordinate legislation, "deeds and other instruments and documents", acts of the Scottish Parliament and instruments made thereunder (added 1998), and Measures and acts of the National Assembly for Wales and instruments made thereunder. The act makes provision in relation to: the construction of certain words and phrases, words of enactment, amendment or repeal of Acts in the Session they were passed, judicial notice, commencement, statutory powers and duties, the effect of repeals, and duplicated offences.

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 applies in the same way to Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland or Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Executive Committee for Northern Ireland was the government of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Generally known as either the Cabinet or the Government, the executive committee existed from 1922 to 1972. It exercised executive authority formally vested in the British monarch in relation to devolved matters.

Under the Act as originally enacted, the "Executive Committee for Northern Ireland" was an executive committee of the Privy Council of Ireland consisting of the ministers appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to head departments of state. Ministers so chosen did not have to be members of the Parliament of Northern Ireland but were required to become members within six months. The Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, which came into force in December 1922, replaced the Lord Lieutenant and Privy Council of Ireland with the Governor of Northern Ireland and Privy Council of Northern Ireland.

The Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 (c. 9 (N.I.)) was an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971, and abolished the existing local authorities in Northern Ireland.

The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC, PC (Ire), KC (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge, who was the Attorney General and Solicitor General for England, Wales and Ireland, as well as the First Lord of the Admiralty for the Royal Navy of Great Britain. His authority as a unionist leader saw him elevated to the British War Cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio in 1917, and he was subsequently appointed as a life peer in the House of Lords in 1921, taking office under the political title Lord Carson of Duncairn. Due to his political campaigns in both Great Britain and Ireland, he became widely regarded as one of the founding figures of Northern Ireland.

From 1905 onwards, Carson was both the Irish Unionist Alliance member of parliament (MP) for the Dublin University constituency and leader of the Ulster Unionist Council in Belfast. In 1915, he entered the war cabinet of H. H. Asquith as Attorney-General. However, he was defeated in his ambition to maintain Ireland as a whole in union with Great Britain. Carson was instrumental in leading the Ulster unionist resistance against the British crown's attempts to introduce home rule for the whole of Ireland, and later played a key role in forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Asquith in 1916. His leadership, however, was celebrated by some for securing a continued place in the United Kingdom for the six northeastern counties, albeit under a devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland that neither he nor his fellow unionists had sought.

The Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 (c. 9 (N.I.)) was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, passed in 1971 to replace the previous system of local authorities established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The system was based on the recommendations of the Macrory Report, of June 1970, which presupposed the continued existence of the Government of Northern Ireland to act as a regional-level authority.

Northern Ireland was to be divided into twenty-six local government districts, each consisting of a number of wards. The act did not define the Districts exactly, but provided a list of 26 existing local government areas which would form the basis of the pattern. It then gave the Governor of Northern Ireland the power to appoint a Local Government Boundaries Commissioner who was to report with proposed names and boundaries not later than 30 June 1972.