It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Restrictions it can impose include a prohibition on music being played, re-routing parades to avoid contentious areas, or banning certain participants based on previous breaches of its determinations.

Its rulings are usually enforced by either parade stewards or the police, though there are disputes as to whether this is done to the letter of the law in certain areas.

[citation needed] A section 6(7) offence has a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment or level five on the standard scale.

The commission was set up after the large-scale civil strife that followed the Drumcree conflict over an Orange Order parade in Portadown.