THE PARADES Commission, which rules on contested marches, could be scrapped under proposals expected next week from a British government-appointed review.
However, any transfer of the commission's responsibilities will be linked to the successful devolution of policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive.
Unionists are in no hurry to receive such powers while Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the British and Irish governments have been urging such a move.
The commission, supported by many nationalists but largely boycotted by unionists and the loyal orders, has been the independent authority ruling on disputed parades since 1997 in the wake of severe violence surrounding the Drumcree march in Co Armagh.
However, the Strategic Review of Parading headed by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Paddy Ashdown is understood to be recommending its abolition.
In its place Lord Ashdown is proposing the transfer of its powers to the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister and to local councils. Local mediators and lawyers would also be drafted in to deal with contentious situations in a case-by-case basis.
The Orange Order has welcomed the suggestion, having opposed the current arrangements since 1997. However, local Orangemen in Portadown, whose march to Drumcree remains unresolved, have already said they are prepared to talk to Garvaghy Road nationalists despite the order's opposition.
DUP MP and Assembly member David Simpson, who takes part in the annual Drumcree church parade, has also welcomed Lord Ashdown's outline plan. The plan could be a "way forward".
SDLP Assembly member Dolores Kelly has called the proposal to scrap the Parades Commission "absolute madness".
"The success of the Parades Commission was a result of its impartiality and independence. The suggested new structures do not have that inherent strength and could be immediately open to challenge and ridicule," she said.
"We have just seen in recent days the absolute mess the Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers made of the Victims' Commission. Giving that office any say on parading decisions seems farcical."
Ulster Unionist parades spokesman Michael Copeland said: "The view of those most affected by the failed Parades Commission would be that anything that replaces the commission must be a good thing."
The Parades Commission is not commenting on reports concerning the Ashdown parading review. Its interim proposals are due to be published next Tuesday and the final report is not due until the autumn. Its proposals could well mean new legislation is needed, thus ensuring the continuation of the Parades Commission for some time yet.
The past two loyalist marching seasons have been notably calm despite the persistence of some local difficulties at Drumcree and at Ardoyne and the Ormeau Road in Belfast.
All the commission's rulings have been adhered to and all parades are now policed exclusively by the PSNI. No British soldiers have been called upon in Northern Ireland for more than two years. The Ashdown review was called to consider the future of the Parades Commission following talks at St Andrews in Scotland in October 2006.