# Parades Commission > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parades_Commission > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parades_Commission.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parades_Commission > Source revision: 1351459112 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Northern Ireland public body}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox organization | name = Parades Commission | logo = Parades Commission logo.svg | logo_size = 200 | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map2 = | map2_size = | map2_alt = | map2_caption = | abbreviation = | nickname = | named_after = | predecessor = | merged_into = | successor = | formation = 1 April 1998 | founder = | founding_location = | extinction = | merger = | type = [Non-departmental public body](/source/Non-departmental_public_body) | vat_id = | registration_id = | status = | purpose = | professional_title = | headquarters = Andras House
60 Great Victoria Street
[Belfast](/source/Belfast)
BT2 7BB{{cite web |title=Contact Us |url=http://www.paradescommission.org/Contact-Us.aspx |website=Parades Commission}} | location = | coordinates = | origins = | region_served = | products = | services = | methods = | fields = | num_members = | num_members_year = | language = | owner = | secretary_general = | leader_title = Chair | leader_name = [Anne Henderson](/source/Anne_Henderson_(public_servant)) | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | board_of_directors = | key_people = | main_organ = | parent_organization = | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = | revenue_year = | disbursements = | expenses = | expenses_year = | endowment = | endowment_year = | num_staff = 13 (2024/25){{cite web |title=Northern Ireland Parades Commission Annual Report |url=https://www.paradescommission.org/getmedia/9c1b42a4-f416-4b8b-9a01-905c01d0a548/NorthernIrelandParadesCommission.aspx |website=Northern Ireland Parades Commission |access-date=29 November 2025}}{{rp|28}} | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | website = {{Official URL}} | remarks = | former_name = | footnotes = | bodystyle = }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998{{efn|Section 19(1).}} | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act to amend the law relating to public processions in Northern Ireland; to provide for the establishment and functions of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and for connected purposes. | year = 1998 | citation = [1998](/source/List_of_acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom_from_1998) c. 2 | territorial_extent = [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland){{efn|Section 19(5).}} | royal_assent = 16 February 1998 | commencement = 2 March 1998{{efn|Section 19(2)–(4). The [Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (Commencement) Order 1998](/source/Public_Processions_(Northern_Ireland)_Act_1998_(Commencement)_Order_1998).}} | repeal_date = | amends = {{ubli|[House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975](/source/House_of_Commons_Disqualification_Act_1975)}} | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = Amended | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/2/contents/enacted | revised_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/2/contents | use_new_UK-LEG = yes | UK-LEG_title = Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 | collapsed = yes }} The '''Parades Commission''' is a [quasi-judicial](/source/quasi-judicial_body) [non-departmental public body](/source/non-departmental_public_body) responsible for placing restrictions on any [parades in Northern Ireland](/source/parades_in_Northern_Ireland) it deems [contentious or offensive](/source/Unionism_in_the_United_Kingdom). It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the [Secretary of State for Northern Ireland](/source/Secretary_of_State_for_Northern_Ireland). Restrictions it can impose include a prohibition on music being played, re-routing parades to avoid contentious areas, or banning certain participants based on previous breaches of its determinations. Its rulings are usually enforced by either parade stewards or the [police](/source/Police_Service_of_Northern_Ireland), though there are disputes as to whether this is done to the [letter of the law](/source/letter_and_spirit_of_the_law) in certain areas. The commission acts under the '''{{visible anchor|Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998}}''' (c. 2).{{Cite legislation UK | type = act | year = 1998 | chapter = 2 | number = | act = Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 }} Parade organisers and participants are liable to arrest and prosecution for breaching any of the commission's rulings, although no-one has been charged since the commission was established in 1998.{{citation needed|date=April 2011}} A section 6(7) offence has a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment or level five on the [standard scale](/source/standard_scale). The commission was set up after the large-scale civil strife that followed the [Drumcree conflict](/source/Drumcree_conflict) over an [Orange Order](/source/Orange_Institution) parade in [Portadown](/source/Portadown). It has come under strong criticism from the Order. The Grand Lodge of the Order has a policy of non-engagement with the commission, although some private and district lodges, particularly those with contentious parades, have agreed to talk to it.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} ==Commissioners== As of April 2021, the commissioners are:{{Cite web|url=https://www.paradescommission.org/About-Us/Commission.aspx|title=Commission - Northern Ireland Parades Commission|website=www.paradescommission.org|access-date=2021-04-09}} *[Graham Forbes](/source/Graham_Forbes) (chair) *Joelle Black *Derek Wilson *Marian Cree *Eimear McAllister *Billy Gamble ==See also== *[List of Government departments and agencies in Northern Ireland](/source/List_of_Government_departments_and_agencies_in_Northern_Ireland) == Notes == {{Notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{Official website}} {{Northern Ireland Office}} {{Authority control}} Category:Quasi-judicial bodies Category:Orange Order Category:The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Category:Northern Ireland peace process Category:1998 establishments in Northern Ireland Category:Northern Ireland Office Category:Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Category:Organizations established in 1998 Category:Freedom of assembly --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Parades Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parades_Commission) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parades_Commission?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.