Recommendation 27

Given the limited further evidence we received on the specific issue of ascribing legal and democratic legitimacy to any substantive reforms made to the institutions, we recommend that expert consultation on this issue should also form part of the Review. We also emphasise that the prospect of review and reform should not include any possibility of reversion to a time before the Agreement. With overwhelming legal and democratic legitimacy, it remains the only viable basis for government in Northern Ireland. The question at hand is when, and by what means, its necessary and foreseen evolution should be instituted.