Senior members of Sinn Féin have voted to hold an Ard Fheis on policing.
The party's Ard Chomhairle decided to go ahead with the conference on 28 January.
Delegates will be asked to give their approval to a range on changes on policing policy, including Sinn Féin taking its places on the policing board and the party giving its support to the PSNI and the criminal justice system.
If the motion to back the PSNI is passed, it will open the door for Sinn Féin to share power in Stormont.
Party president Gerry Adams said it was a hugely courageous decision.
He said: 'I believe that the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday Agreement is now within our grasp. Sinn Féin wants to get policing right.
'The Extraordinary Sinn Féin Ard Fheis is the important next step.'
The Ard Chomhairle debated the issue for five-and-half hours at the Great Southern Hotel at Dublin Airport before agreeing to let rank-and-file party members make the decision on support for the PSNI.
The Taoiseach welcomed the decision by Sinn Féin to hold a special Ard Fheis 'to address the issue of support for policing and the rule of law'.
He added: 'It is important that, for the first time, we now have the prospect of all parties giving their full support to policing and the rule of law.
