Northern Ireland Orders in Council

(a) has committed an act of discrimination against the claimant which is unlawful by virtue of any provision of Part IV; or

(b) is by virtue of Article 35 or 36 to be treated as having committed such an act of discrimination against the claimant,

may be made the subject of civil proceedings in like manner as any other claim in tort for breach of statutory duty.

    (2) Proceedings under paragraph (1) shall be brought only in a county court; but all such remedies shall be obtainable in such proceedings as, apart from this paragraph and Article 37, would be obtainable in the High Court.

    (3) As respects an act of unlawful discrimination falling within Article 3(2)(b), no award of damages shall be made if the respondent proves that the requirement or condition in question was not applied with the intention of treating the claimant unfavourably on the ground of religious belief or political opinion.

    (4) Damages in respect of an act of unlawful discrimination may include compensation for injury to feelings whether or not they include compensation under any other head.

    (5) Civil proceedings in respect of a claim by any person that he has been discriminated against in contravention of Article 27 by a governing body of an establishment falling within paragraph (2)(b) of that Article, shall not be instituted unless the claimant has given notice of the claim to the Department of Education.

    (6) Nothing in paragraph (5) applies to a counterclaim.

    (7) For the purposes of proceedings under paragraph (1) - 

(a) Article 33(1) (power of judge to appoint assessors) of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 shall apply with the omission of the words "on the application of any party", and

(b) the remuneration of assessors appointed under that Article shall be at such rate as may be determined by the Lord Chancellor with the approval of the Treasury and may be defrayed as part of the expenses of the Lord Chancellor.

    (8) A county court shall have jurisdiction to entertain proceedings under paragraph (1) with respect to an act done on a ship, aircraft or hovercraft outside its division, including such an act done outside Northern Ireland.

(a) an appeal against the finding is abandoned or determined; or

(b) the time for appealing expires without an appeal having been brought.

(a) forms by which the person aggrieved may question the respondent on his reasons for doing any relevant act, or on any other matter which is or may be relevant; and

(b) forms by which the respondent may if he so wishes reply to any questions.

    (2) Where the person aggrieved questions the respondent (whether in accordance with regulations under paragraph (1) or not) - 

(a) the question, and any reply by the respondent (whether in accordance with the regulations or not) shall, subject to the following provisions of this Article, be admissible as evidence in the proceedings; and

(b) if it appears to the court or the Tribunal that the respondent deliberately and without reasonable cause omitted to reply within a reasonable period or that his reply is evasive or equivocal, the court or the Tribunal may draw any inference from that fact that it considers it just and equitable to draw, including an inference that he committed an unlawful act.

    (3) The Department may by regulations - 

(a) prescribe the period within which questions must be duly served in order to be admissible under paragraph (2)(a); and

(b) prescribe the manner in which a question, and any reply by the respondent, may be duly served.

(a) the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the complainant first had knowledge, or might reasonably be expected first to have had knowledge, of the act complained of; or

(b) the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the act was done.

    (2) Subject to paragraph (5), a county court shall not consider a claim under Article 40 unless proceedings in respect of the claim are instituted before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the act complained of was done.

    (3) Subject to paragraph (5), the Tribunal or county court shall not consider an application under Article 42(2)(a) unless it is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the act to which it relates was done; and a county court shall not consider an application under Article 42(4) unless it is made before the end of the period of 5 years so beginning.

    (4) Subject to paragraph (5), a county court shall not consider an application under Article 43(4) in relation to an undertaking under that Article unless it is made before the end of the period specified in the undertaking by virtue of paragraph (3)(d) of that Article.

    (5) A court or the Tribunal may nevertheless consider any such complaint, claim or application which is out of time if, in all the circumstances of the case, it considers that it is just and equitable to do so.

    (6) For the purposes of this Article - 

(a) when the inclusion of any term in a contract renders the making of the contract an unlawful act, that act shall be treated as extending throughout the duration of the contract; and

(b) any act extending over a period shall be treated as done at the end of that period; and

(c) a deliberate omission shall be treated as done when the person in question does an act inconsistent with doing the omitted act or, if he has done no such inconsistent act, when the period expires within which he might reasonably have been expected to do the omitted act if it were to be done.

(a) describe the concern in general terms;

(b) give the name and address of the employer; and

(c) give the number of employees employed in Northern Ireland.

    (7) If an employer fails to make an application under this Article within the period of one month after the time when the concern first satisfies the condition for registration (or in the case of a concern the entry for which has been removed from the register, first satisfies that condition since the removal), he shall be guilty of an offence.

    (8) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (7) - 

(a) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and

(b) if the failure continues after conviction, shall be liable on a second or subsequent summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one-tenth of level 5 on the standard scale for each day on which the failure continues.

    (9) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under paragraph (7) to show that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to make an application under this Article within the period allowed and that he made such an application as soon as it was reasonably practicable for him to do so.

    (10) In determining for any of the purposes of this Part whether a concern satisfies the condition for registration, references to the employees of any person (referred to in this paragraph as "the employer") shall, if regulations made by the Department under this Article so provide or in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, include a reference to the employees of - 

(a) any body corporate controlled by the employer and, if the employer is a body corporate, any associated body corporate; and

(b) any person connected with the employer,

(a) a Minister of the Crown or a Northern Ireland Minister;

(b) a statutory body or the holder of a statutory office; or

(c) a person appearing to the Department to exercise functions of a public nature.

(a) those employed in a registered concern in Northern Ireland; and

(b) those applying to fill vacancies for employment in Northern Ireland in such a concern,

to be ascertained, the employer shall prepare for each year and serve on the Commission a return (in this Part referred to as a "monitoring return") in a form provided by or on behalf of the Department.

    (2) A monitoring return shall contain such information about the employees of the employer and those applying for employment in the concern as may be prescribed.

    (3) For the purpose of enabling the composition of those ceasing to be employed in any concern of a person who is a public authority for the purposes of this Article to be ascertained, the employer shall include in a monitoring return such information as may be prescribed.

    (4) For the purpose of enabling the composition of those ceasing to be employed in any other registered concern in which more than 250 employees are employed to be ascertained, the employer shall include in a monitoring return such information as may be prescribed; and for the purposes of this paragraph where, at the beginning of or at any subsequent time in any prescribed period, more than 250 employees are employed in the concern, that condition is to be treated as satisfied for the whole or, as the case may be, the remainder of that period.

    (5) If no monitoring return for a year in respect of any registered concern is served on the Commission before the time for serving the return expires, the employer shall be guilty of an offence.

    (6) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (5) - 

(a) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and

(b) if the failure to submit the monitoring return continues after conviction, shall be liable on a second or subsequent summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one-tenth of level 5 on the standard scale for each day on which the failure continues.

    (7) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under paragraph (5) to show that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to serve on the Commission a monitoring return for that year before the time for serving the return expired and that he served such a return for that year on the Commission as soon as it was reasonably practicable to do so.

    (8) For the purpose of this Article the time for serving a monitoring return expires in the case of each year at the end of the first 4 months of the year.

    (9) In this Article "year", in relation to a registered concern, means any period of 12 months beginning with - 

(a) the date on which the description of the concern is entered, or treated by virtue of Article 51 as entered, in the register; or

(b) the anniversary of that date.

    (10) In this Article and Article 53 "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under Article 53.

    (11) In this Part - 

"community" means the Protestant community, or the Roman Catholic community, in Northern Ireland; and

"composition" in relation to those employed or, as the case may be, applying for employment in or ceasing to be employed in, a registered concern means the number who are to be treated for the purposes of monitoring as belonging to each community.