The Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland (Establishment and Constitution) Order (Northern Ireland) 2023 came into force on the 6th March 2023.
This changed the name of the Agency from the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency to the Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland. The Guardians Ad Litem are now known as Children’s Court Guardians.
NIGALA was established in 1995 by the then Department of Health and Social Services as a Special Agency within the Health and Personal Social Services using powers conferred on it by the Health and Personal Social Services (Special Agencies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990. The constitution of NIGALA was set out in the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency (Establishment and Constitution) Order (NI) 1995, which came into operation on 1st December 1995.
The function of the Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland, and NIGALA as it was, is to safeguard and promote the interests of children and young people whose welfare is being considered in public law and adoption court proceedings, by providing independent social work advice and by ensuring the effective representation of the views of these children and young people. When a child or young person becomes subject to court proceedings to determine his or her best interests, the guardian must work to assist the court in making a fully informed decision about the future life of that child or young person.
As part of our accountability processes we are required to produce an annual report and accounts. These documents can be found in our Publication Scheme and provide an overview of the organisation’s achievements each year.
You’ll find a history of the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency below:
