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A new standards commissioner for Stormont assembly members (MLAs) is set to be appointed later on Monday.
It will be the first item on the agenda at the assembly, as MLAs return to the chamber following the summer break.
Dr Melissa McCullough's term will take effect immediately if her appointment is approved.
Since late 2017, there has been no-one in post to investigate potential breaches of the code of conduct for MLAs.
It is understood she will be able to retrospectively investigate complaints made against MLAs over the past three years.
However, recommending sanctions remains a matter for Stormont's standards committee.
Dr McCullough is an academic with a research record in law and ethics.
The post of assembly standards commissioner has been empty since Douglas Bain stood down in 2017, after his five-year term ended.
The collapse of power-sharing at that time meant a successor could not be ratified.
Retired solicitor Paul Kennedy was due to take over the role in July, but unexpectedly withdrew from the appointments process.
Who is Dr Melissa McCullough?
An American who moved to Northern Ireland in the 1990s, Ms McCullough is an academic expert in medical ethics and law.
She raised concerns about her own treatment from a Belfast neurologist who was suspended by the Belfast trust amidst concerns about possible misdiagnoses.
In April, Ms McCullough also warned about the need to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline care workers after her own mother died in a US nursing home hit by a Covid-19 outbreak.
Dr McCullough's published work and research interests include professionalism, organisational ethics, applied ethics, equality and justice in policy and practice, diversity and inclusion, and public health ethics.
She moved to Northern Ireland from the United States in 1994 and is married with three children.
Later on Monday, the Stormont parties will also debate a motion tabled by the SDLP that calls on the British government to extend its coronavirus job retention scheme, "to provide future support to businesses and workers" in Northern Ireland.
Last week, the Stormont Executive supported a proposal for Finance Minister Conor Murphy to write to the chancellor expressing a similar concern.
However, the government has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a further extension.
The government's coronavirus furlough scheme began winding down last week, with companies using the scheme now having to contribute to workers' wages before it ends in October.
More than 200,000 workers in Northern Ireland were furloughed after the lockdown began in March.
'Widespread public frustration' with sentencing laws
MLAs will also discuss a call for tougher prison sentences for those convicted of attacks against emergency workers in Northern Ireland.
The DUP proposal says it reflects the "widespread public frustration with current outcomes", and that it should apply to those convicted of attacking police officers, prison officers, firefighters, search and rescue workers and frontline health care staff.
It follows a call by First Minister Arlene Foster last week for higher sentences for those found guilty of murdering public servants.
Neither motion is binding but would indicate the level of strength within the assembly for such a move.