In order to settle the decades of bloody disputes between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, it was necessary to legally establish the equality of both groups. This consideration resulted from attempts to more effectively shape the non-legal initiative Policy Appraisal and Fair Treatment (PAFT) of 1994. It prescribed that all state action should be shaped by the principle of equality when it came to legal and administrative functions as well as the provision of public services. An examination of this initiative by the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) illustrated the general discontent with the PAFT guidelines. In fact, the guidelines had not been communicated to all institutions or had simply been ignored by them because they were not legally binding. Therefore the Commission recommended among others the introduction of legal obligations in the public sector in order to incorporate equality in all aspects and to promote it effectively in this way. This recommendation was met by most Northern Irish parties, as well as the Irish and British governments, in their political agreement regarding a peace process, the so-called Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement. This agreement was passed on 10 April 1998 and included a general legal equality duty for states and administrations, which was introduced in the Northern Ireland Act 1998.