Commentary on Sections and Schedules Disqualification Section 17: Exceptions and relief from disqualification
82.Section 17 provides for certain persons to be exempt from certain of the provisions in section 16 disqualifying certain persons from membership of the Assembly.
83.A citizen of the European Union resident in the UK is not disqualified from membership of the Assembly under section 3 of the Act of Settlement 1700. Such persons would otherwise be disqualified under section 16(2).
84.Subsection (3) permits the Assembly, by resolution, to disregard the disqualification (or alleged disqualification) of a person on any ground falling within section 16(1) or section 16(4). To do so it must consider that the grounds for disqualification have been removed and that it is proper to disregard the disqualification.
85.Any Assembly resolution to disregard a disqualification under subsection (3) is not to affect any proceedings under Part 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as applied by an Order under section 13. Nor can such a resolution enable the Assembly to disregard any disqualification established in proceedings under section 19 (which permits an action to be raised in the High Court seeking a declaration that a person who has been returned as an Assembly member is disqualified).