Guarantee of continued judicial independence

1 The following persons must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary— a the First Minister, b the deputy First Minister, c Northern Ireland Ministers, and d all with responsibility for matters relating to the judiciary or otherwise to the administration of justice, where that responsibility is to be discharged only in or as regards Northern Ireland. 2 The following particular duty is imposed for the purpose of upholding that independence. 3 The First Minister, the deputy First Minister and Northern Ireland Ministers must not seek to influence particular judicial decisions through any special access to the judiciary. 4 In this section “ the judiciary ” includes the judiciary of any of the following— a the Supreme Court; b any other court established under the law of any part of the United Kingdom; c any international court. 5 In subsection (4) “ international court ” means the International Court of Justice or any other court or tribunal which exercises jurisdiction, or performs functions of a judicial nature, in pursuance of— a an agreement to which the United Kingdom or Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is a party, or b a resolution of the Security Council or General Assembly of the United Nations.