Talk:Flags and Emblems (Display) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954

United Kingdom
Should this article be categorised under United Kingdom acts of parliament when it was not an act passed by the parliament of the United Kingdom but by the independent parliament of Northern Ireland and applied only to Northern Ireland. Categorising it under United Kingdom acts of parliament could be suggesting that this was something imposed on Northern Ireland by the UK government which is not the case. I think this category link should be removed. 66.162.71.130 14:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

RUC Powers
The act states:
 * 2. - (l) Where any police officer, having regard to the time or place at which and the circumstances in which any emblem is being displayed, apprehends that the display of such emblem may occasion a breach of the peace, he may require the person displaying or responsible for the display of such emblem to discontinue such display or cause it to be discontinued; and any person who refuses or fails to comply with such a requirement shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

This give the RUC discretionary power to remove any flag or emblem deemed to be likely to cause a breach of the peace, it didn't mean they automatically had to.--padraig3uk 16:00, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Police Officers have a duty to keep the peace. Breachs of the peace are to be avoided by Officers generally, and this Act simply added detail to that duty and legally prohibited the Union Flag from constituting a breach of the peace. --posted by Traditional unionist

Only if they deemed the display as likely to cause breach of the peace, if not they could ignore it, the case in 1964 in Divis was caused by Ian Paisley leading a march into the area demanding its removal, resulting in days of rioting, only then did the RUC remove the flag.--padraig3uk 16:30, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually thats not true. The rioting was AFTER the RUC removed the flag for the second time. If it would breach the peace the RUC had a duty to remove the flag, if not they did not have the power to remove it.Traditional unionist 16:33, 23 June 2007 (UTC)