| THE NATION
Article 1.
The Irish nation hereby affirms its inalienable, indefeasible, and sovereign
right to choose its own form of Government, to determine its relations with
other nations, and to develop its life, political, economic and cultural, in
accordance with its own genius and traditions.
Article 2.
The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and
the territorial seas.
Article 3.
Pending the re-integration of the national territory, and without prejudice to
the right of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution to
exercise jurisdiction over the whole of that territory, the laws enacted by
that Parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws
of Saorsta/t E/ireann and the like extra-territorial effect.
THE STATE.
Article 4.
The name of the State is E/ire, or in the English language, Ireland.
Article 5.
Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state.
Article 6.
1. All powers of government, legislative, executive and judicial, derive,
under God, from the people, whose right it is to designate the rulers of the
State and, in final appeal, to decide all questions of national policy,
according to the requirements of the common good.
2. These powers of government are exercisable only by or on the authority of
the organs of State established by this Constitution.
Article 7.
The national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange.
Article 8.
1. The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.
2. The English language is recognized as a second official language.
3. Provision may, however, be made by law for the exclusive use of either of
the said languages for any one or more official purposes, either throughout the
State or in any part thereof.
Article 9.
1. 1' On the coming into operation of this Constitution any person who was a
citizen of Saorsta/t E/ireann immediately before the coming into operation of
this Constitution shall become and be a citizen of Ireland.
2' The future acquisition and loss of Irish nationality and citizenship shall
be determined in accordance with law.
3' No person may be excluded from Irish nationality and citizenship by reason
of the sex of such person.
2. Fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State are fundamental political
duties of all citizens.
Article 10.
1. All natural resources, including the air and all forms of potential energy,
within the jurisdiction of the Parliament and Government established by this
Constitution and all royalties and franchises within that jurisdiction belong
to the State subject to all estates and interests therein for the time being
lawfully vested in any person or body.
2. All land and all mines, minerals and waters which belonged to Saorsta/t
E/ireann immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution
belong to the State to the same extent as they then belonged to Saorsta/t
E/ireann.
3. Provision may be made by law for the management of the property which
belongs to the State by virtue of this Article and for the control of the
alienation, whether temporary or permanent, of that property.
4. Provision may also be made by law for the management of land, mines,
minerals and waters acquired by the State after the coming into operation of
this Constitution and for the control of the alienation, whether temporary or
permanent, of the land, mines, minerals and waters so acquired.
Article 11.
All revenues of the State from whatever source arising shall, subject to such
exception as may be provided by law, form one fund, and shall be appropriated
for the purposes and in the manner and subject to the charges and liabilities
determined and imposed by law.
THE PRESIDENT
Article 12.
1. There shall be a President of Ireland (Uachtara/n na hE/ireann),
hereinafter called the President, who shall take precedence over all other
persons in the State and who shall exercise and perform the powers and
functions conferred on the President by this Constitution and by law.
2. 1' The President shall be elected by direct vote of the people.
2' Every citizen who has the right to vote at an election for members of Da/il
E/ireann shall have the right to vote at an election for President.
3' The voting shall be by secret ballot and on the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote.
3. 1' The President shall hold office for seven years from the date upon which
he enters upon his office, unless before the expiration of that period he dies,
or resigns, or is removed from office, or becomes permanently incapacitated,
such incapacity being established to the satisfaction of the Supreme Court
consisting of not less than five judges.
2' A person who holds, or who has held, office as President, shall be eligible
for re-election to that office once, but only once.
3' An election for the office of President shall be held not later than, and
not earlier than the sixtieth day before, the date of the expiration of the
term of office of every President, but in the event of the removal from office
of the President or of his death, resignation, or permanent incapacity
established as aforesaid (whether occurring before or after he enters upon his
office), an election for the office of President shall be held within sixty
days after such event.
4. 1' Every citizen who has reached his thirty-fifth year of age is eligible
for election to the office of President.
2' Every candidate for election, not a former or retiring President, must be
nominated either by:
i. not less than twenty persons, each of whom is at the time a member of one
of the Houses of the oireachtas or
ii. by the Councils of not less than four administrative Counties (including
County Boroughs) as defined by law.
3' No person and no such Council shall be entitled to subscribe to the
nomination of more than one candidate in respect of the same election.
4' Former or retiring Presidents may become candidates on their own nomination.
5' Where only one candidate is nominated for the office of President it shall
not be necessary to proceed to a ballot for his election.
5. Subject to the provisions of this Article, elections for the office of
President shall be regulated by law.
6. 1' The President shall not be a member of either House of the Oireachtas.
2' If a member of either House of the Oireachtas be elected President, he shall
be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House.
3' The President shall not hold any other office or position of emolument.
7. The first President shall enter upon his office as soon as may be after his
election, and every subsequent President shall enter upon his office on the day
following the expiration of the term of office of his predecessor or as soon as
may be thereafter or, in the event of his predecessor's removal from office,
death, resignation, or permanent incapacity established as provided by section
3 hereof, as soon as may be after the election
8. The President shall enter upon his office by taking and subscribing
publicly, in the presence of members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, of
Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court, and other public personages,
the following declaration :-
"In the presence of Almighty God I do solemnly and sincerely promise and
declare that l will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws,
that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with
the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the
service and welfare of the people of Ireland. May God direct and sustain me."
9. The President shall not leave the State during his term of office save with
the consent of the Government.
10. 1' The President may be impeached for stated misbehaviour.
2' The charge shall be preferred by either of the Houses of the Oireachtas,
subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section.
3' A proposal to either House of the Oireachtas to prefer a charge against the
President under this section shall not be entertained unless upon a notice of
motion in writing signed by not less than thirty members of that House.
4' No such proposal shall be adopted by either of the Houses of the Oireachtas
save upon a resolution of that House supported by not less than two-thirds of
the total membership thereof.
5' When a charge has been preferred by either House of the Oireachtas, the
other House shall investigate the charge, or cause the charge to be
investigated.
6' The President shall have the right to appear and to be represented at the
investigation of the charge.
7' If, as a result of the investigation, a resolution be passed supported by
not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House of the Oireachtas
by which the charge was investigated, or caused to be investigated, declaring
that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained and that the
misbehaviour, the subject of the charge, was such as to render him unfit to
continue in office, such resolution shall operate to remove the President from
his office
Il. 1' The President shall have an official residence in or near the City of
Dublin.
2' The President shall receive such emoluments and allowances as may be
determined by law.
3' The emoluments and allowances of the President shall not be diminished
during his term of office.
Article 13.
1. 1' The President shall, on the nomination of Da/il E/ireann, appoint the
Taoiseach, that is, the head of the Government or Prime Minister.
2' The President shall, on the nomination of the Taoiseach with the previous
approval of Da/il E/ireann, appoint the other members of the Government.
3' The President shall, on the advice of the Taoiseach, accept the resignation
or terminate the appointment of any member of the Government.
2. 1' Da/il E/ireann shall be summoned and dissolved by the President on the
advice of the Taoiseach.
2' The President may in his absolute discretion refuse to dissolve Da/il
E/ireann on the advice of a Taoiseach who has ceased to retain the support of a
majority in Da/il E/ireann.
3' The President may at any time, after consultation with the Council of State,
convene a meeting of either or both of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
3. 1' Every Bill passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the
Oireachtas shall require the signature of the President for its enactment into
law.
2' The President shall promulgate every law made by the Oireachtas.
4. The supreme command of the Defense Forces is hereby vested in the
President.
5. 1' The exercise of the supreme command of the Defense Forces shall be
regulated by law.
2' All commissioned officers of the Defense Forces shall hold their commissions
from the President.
6. The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by
any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President,
but such power of commutation or remission may, except in capital cases, also
be conferred by law on other authorities.
7. 1' The President may, after consultation with the Council of State,
communicate with the Houses of the Oireachtas by message or address on any
matter of national or public importance.
2' The President may, after consultation with the Council of State, address a
message to the Nation at any time on any such matter.
3' Every such message or address must, however, have received the approval of
the Government.
8. 1' The President shall not be answerable to either House of the Oireachtas
or to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and functions of
his office or for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise
and performance of these powers and functions.
2' The behavior of the President may, however, be brought under review in
either of the Houses of the Oireachtas for the purposes of section 10 of
Article 12 of this Constitution, or by any court, tribunal or body appointed or
designated by either of the Houses of the Oireachtas for the investigation of a
charge under section 10 of the said Article.
9. The powers and functions conferred on the President by this Constitution
shall be exercisable and performable by him only on the advice of the
Government, save where it is provided by this Constitution that he shall act in
his absolute discretion or after consultation with or in relation to the
Council of State, or on the advice or nomination of, or on receipt of any other
communication from, any other person or body.
10. Subject to this Constitution, additional powers and functions may be
conferred on the President by law.
11. No power or function conferred on the President by law shall be
exercisable or performable by him save only on the advice of the Government.
Article 14.
1. In the event of the absence of the President, or his temporary incapacity,
or his permanent incapacity established as provided by section 3 of Article 12
hereof, or in the event of his death, resignation, removal from office, or
failure to exercise and perform the powers and functions of his office or any
of them, or at any time at which the office of President may be vacant, the
powers and functions conferred on the President by or under this Constitution
shall be exercised and performed by a Commission constituted as provided in
section 2 of this Article.
2. 1' The Commission shall consist of the following persons, namely, the Chief
Justice, the Chairman of Da/il E/ireann (An Ceann Comhairle), and the Chairman
of Seanad E/ireann.
2' The President of the High Court shall act as a member of the Commission in
the place of the Chief Justice on any occasion on which the office of Chief
Justice is vacant or on which the Chief Justice is unable to act.
3' The Deputy Chairman of Da/il E/ireann shall act as a member of the
Commission in the place of the Chairman of Da/il E/ireann on any occasion on
which the office of Chairman of Da/il E/ireann is vacant or on which the said
Chairman is unable to act.
4' The Deputy Chairman of Seanad Eireann shall act as a member of the
Commission in the place of the Chairman of Seanad E/ireann on any occasion on
which the office of Chairman of Seanad E/ireann is vacant or on which the said
Chairman is unable to act.
3. The Commission may act by any two of their number and may act
notwithstanding a vacancy in their membership.
4. The Council of State may by a majority of its members make such provision
as to them may seem meet for the exercise and performance of the powers and
functions conferred on the President by or under this Constitution in any
contingency which is not provided for by the foregoing provisions of this
Article.
5. 1' The provisions of this Constitution which relate to the exercise and
performance by the President of the powers and functions conferred on him by or
under this Constitution shall subject to the subsequent provisions of this
section apply to the exercise and performance of the said powers and filnctions
under this Article.
2' In the event of the failure of the President to exercise or perform any
power or function which the President is by or under this Constitution required
to exercise or perform within a specified time, the said power or function
shall be exercised or performed under this Article, as soon as may be after the
expiration of the time so specified.
THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT.
Constitution and Powers.
Article 15.
1. 1' The National Parliament shall be called and known, and is in this
Constitution generally referred to, as the Oireachtas.
2' The Oireachtas shall consist of the President and two Houses, viz.: a House
of Representatives to be called Da/il E/ireann and a Senate to be called Seanad
E/ireann.
3' The Houses of the Oireachtas shall sit in or near the City of Dublin or in
such other place as they may from time to time determine.
2. 1' The sole and exclusive power of making laws for the State is hereby
vested in the Oireachtas: no other legislative authority has power to make laws
for the State.
2' Provision may however be made by law for the creation or recognition of
subordinate legislatures and for the powers and functions of these
legislatures.
3. 1' The Oireachtas may provide for the establishment or recognition of
functional or vocational councils representing branches of the social and
economic life of the people.
2' A law establishing or recognizing any such council shall determine its
rights, powers and duties, and its relation to the Oireachtas and to the
Government.
4. 1' The Oireachtas shall not enact any law which is in any respect repugnant
to this Constitution or any provision thereof.
2' Every law enacted by the Oireachtas which is in any respect repugnant to
this Constitution or to any provision thereof, shall, but to the extent only of
such repugnancy, be invalid.
5. The Oireachtas shall not declare acts to be infringements of the law which
were not so at the date of their commission.
6. 1' The right to raise and maintain military or armed forces is vested
exclusively in the Oireachtas.
2' No military or armed force, other than a military or armed force raised and
maintained by the Oireachtas, shall be raised or maintained for any purpose
whatsoever.
7. The Oireachtas shall hold at least one session every year.
8. 1' Sittings of each House of the Oireachtas shall be public.
2' In cases of special emergency, however, either House may hold a private
sitting with the assent of two-thirds of the members present.
9. 1' Each House of the Oireachtas shall elect from its members its own
Chairman and Deputy Chairman, and shall prescribe their powers and duties.
2' The remuneration of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of each House shall be
determined by law.
10. Each House shall make its own rules and standing orders, with power to
attach penalties for their infringement, and shall have power to ensure freedom
of debate, to protect its official documents and the private papers of its
members, and to protect itself and its members against any person or persons
interfering with, molesting or attempting to corrupt its members in the
exercise of their duties.
11. 1' All questions in each House shall, save as otherwise provided by this
Constitution, be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present
and voting other than the Chairman or presiding member.
2' The Chairman or presiding member shall have and exercise a casting vote in
the case of an equality of votes.
3' The number of members necessary to constitute a meeting of either House for
the exercise of its powers shall be determined by its standing orders.
12. All official reports and publications of the Oireachtas or of either House
thereof and utterances made in either House wherever published shall be
privileged.
13. The members of each House of the Oireachtas shall, except in case of
treason as defined in this Constitution, felony or breach of the peace, be
privileged from arrest in going to and returning from, and while within the
precincts of, either House, and shall not, in respect of any utterance in
either House, be amenable to any court or any authority other than the House
itself.
14. No person may be at the same time a member of both Houses of the
Oireachtas, and, if any person who is already a member of either House becomes
a member of the other House, he shall forthwith be deemed to have vacated his
first seat.
15. The Oireachtas may make provision by law for the payment of allowances to
the members of each House thereof in respect of their duties as public
representatives and for the grant to them of free traveling and such other
facilities (if any) in connection with those duties as the Oireachtas may
determine.
Da/il E/ireann.
Article 16.
1. 1' Every citizen without distinction of sex who has reached the age of
twenty-one years, and who is not placed under disability or incapacity by this
Constitution or by law, shall be eligible for membership of Da/il E/ireann.
2' i. All citizens, and
ii. such other persons in the State as may be determined by law,
without distinction of sex who have reached the age of eighteen years who are
not disqualified by law and comply with the provisions of the law relating to
the election of members of Da/il Eireann, shall have the right to vote at an
election for members of Da/il E/ireann.
3' No law shall be enacted placing any citizen under disability or incapacity
for membership of Da/il E/ireann on the ground of sex or disqualifying any
citizen or other person from voting at an election for members of Da/il
E/ireann on that ground.
4' No voter may exercise more than one vote at an election for Da/il E/ireann,
and the voting shall be by secret ballot.
2. 1' Da/il E/ireann shall be composed of members who represent constituencies
determined by law.
2' The number of members shall from time to time be fixed by law, but the total
number of members of Da/il E/ireann shall not be fixed at less than one member
for each thirty thousand of the population, or at more than one member for each
twenty thousand of the population.
3' The ratio between the number of members to be elected at any time for each
constituency and the population of each constituency, as ascertained at the
last preceding census, shall, so far as it is practicable, be the same
throughout the country.
4' The Oireachtas shall revise the constituencies at least once in every twelve
years, with due regard to changes in distribution of the population, but any
alterations in the constituencies shall not take effect during the life of
Da/il E/ireann sitting when such revision is made.
5' The members shall be elected on the system of proportional representation by
means of the single transferable vote.
6' No law shall be enacted whereby the number of members to be resumed for any
constituency shall be less than three.
3. 1' Da/il E/ireann shall be summoned and dissolved as provided by section 2
of Article 13 of this Constitution.
2' A general election for members of Da/il E/ireann shall take place not later
than thirty days after a dissolution of Da/il E/ireann.
4. 1' Polling at every general election for Da/il E/ireann shall as far as
practicable take place on the same day throughout the country.
2' Da/il Eireann shall meet within thirty days from that polling day.
5. The same Da/il E/ireann shall not continue for a longer period than seven
years from the date of its first meeting: a shorter period may be fixed by law.
6. Provision shall be made by law to enable the member of Da/il E/ireann who
is the Chairman immediately before a dissolution of Da/il E/ireann to be deemed
without any actual election to be elected a member of Da/il E/ireann at the
ensuing general election.
7. Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Article, elections for
membership of Da/il E/ireann, including the filling of casual vacancies, shall
be regulated in accordance with law.
Article 17.
1. 1' As soon as possible after the presentation to Da/il E/ireann under
Article 28 of this Constitution of the Estimates of receipts and the Estimates
of expenditure of the State for any financial year, Da/il E/ireann shall
consider such Estimates.
2' Save in so far as may be provided by specific enactment in each case, the
legislation required to give effect to the Financial Resolutions of each year
shall be enacted within that year.
2. Da/il E/ireann shall not pass any vote or resolution, and no law shall be
enacted, for the appropriation of revenue or other public moneys unless the
purpose of the appropriation shall have been recommended to Da/il E/ireann by a
message from the Government signed by the Taoiseach.
Seanad Eireann.
Article 18.
1. Seanad E/ireann shall be composed of sixty members, of whom eleven shall be
nominated members and forty- nine shall be elected members.
2. A person to be eligible for membership of Seanad Eireann must be eligible
to become a member of Da/il E/ireann.
3. The nominated members of Seanad E/ireann shall be nominated, with their
prior consent, by the Taoiseach who is appointed next after the reassembly of
Da/il E/ireann following the dissolution thereof which occasions the nomination
of the said members.
4. 1' The elected members of Seanad E/ireann shall be elected as follows:--
i. Three shall be elected by the National University of Ireland.
ii. Three shall be elected by the University of Dublin.
iii. Forty-three shall be elected from panels of candidates constituted as
hereinafter provided.
2' Provision may be made by law for the election, on a franchise and in the
manner to be provided by law, by one or more of the following institutions,
namely:
i. the universities mentioned in subsection 1' of this section,
ii. any other institutions of higher education in the State,
of so many members of Seanad E/ireann as may be fixed by law in substitution
for an equal number of the members to be elected pursuant to paragraphs i and
ii of the said subsection 1'.
A member or members of Seanad E/ireann may be elected under this subsection by
institutions grouped together or by a single institution.
3' Nothing in this Article shall be invoked to prohibit the dissolution by law
of a university mentioned in subsection 1' of this section.
5. Every election of the elected members of Seanad E/ireann shall be held on
the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable
vote, and by secret postal ballot.
6. The members of Seanad E/ireann to be elected by the Universities shall be
elected on a franchise and in the manner to be provided by law.
7. 1' Before each general election of the members of Seanad E/ireann to be
elected from panels of candidates, five panels of candidates shall be formed in
the manner provided by law containing respectively the names of persons having
knowledge and practical experience of the following interests and services,
namely:
i. National Language and Culture, Literature, Art, Education and such
professional interests as may be defined by law for the purpose of this panel;
ii. Agriculture and allied interests. and Fisheries;
iii. Labour, whether organized or unorganized;
iv. Industry and Commerce, including banking, finance, accountancy,
engineering and architecture;
v. Public Administration and social services, including voluntary social
activities.
2' Not more than eleven and, subject to the provisions of Article 19 hereof,
not less than five members of Seanad E/ireann shall be elected from any one
panel.
8. A general election for Seanad E/ireann shall take place not later than
ninety days after a dissolution of Da/il Eireann, and the first meeting of
Seanad E/ireann after the general election shall take place on a day to be
fixed by the President on the advice of the Taoiseach.
9. Every member of Seanad E/ireann shall, unless he previously dies, resigns,
or becomes disqualified, continue to hold office until the day before the
polling day of the general election for Seanad E/ireann next held after his
election or nomination
10. 1' Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Article elections of the
elected members of Seanad E/ireann shall be regulated by law.
2' Casual vacancies in the number of the nominated members of Seanad E/ireann
shall be filled by nomination by the Taoiseach with the prior consent of
persons so nominated.
3' Casual vacancies in the number of the elected members of Seanad E/ireann
shall be filled in the manner provided by law.
Article 19.
Provision may be made by law for the direct election by any functional or
vocational group or association or council of so many members of Seanad Eireann
as may be fixed by such law in substitution for an equal number of the members
to be elected from the corresponding panels of candidates constituted under
Article 18 of this Constitution.
Legislation.
Article 20.
1. Every Bill initiated in and passed by Da/il E/ireann shall be sent to
Seanad E/ireann and may, unless it be a Money Bill, be amended in Seanad
E/ireann and Da/il Eireann shall consider any such amendment.
2. 1' A Bill other than a Money Bill may be initiated in Seanad E/ireann, and
if passed by Seanad E/ireann, shall be introduced in Da/il E/ireann
2' A Bill initiated in Seanad E/ireann if amended in Da/il E/ireann shall be
considered as a Bill initiated in Da/il E/ireann.
3. A Bill passed by either House and accepted by the other House shall be
deemed to have been passed by both Houses
Money Bills.
Article 21.
1. 1' Money Bills shall be initiated in Da/il E/ireann only.
2' Every Money Bill passed by Da/il E/ireann shall be sent to Seanad Eireann
for its recommendations.
2. 1' Every Money Bill sent to Seanad E/ireann for its recommendations shall,
at the expiration of a period not longer than twenty-one days after it shall
have been sent to Seanad E/ireann, be returned to Da/il E/ireann, which may
accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of Seanad E/ireann.
2' If such Money Bill is not returned by Seanad E/ireann to Da/il E/ireann
within such twenty-one days or is returned within such twenty- one days with
recommendations which Da/il E/ireann does not accept, it shall be deemed to
have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said twenty-one days.
Article 22.
1. 1' A Money Bill means a Bill which contains only provisions dealing with
all or any of the following matters, namely, the imposition, repeal, remission,
alteration or regulation of taxation; the imposition for the payment of debt or
other financial purposes of charges on public moneys or the variation or repeal
of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody, issue or
audit of accounts of public money; the raising or guarantee of any loan or the
repayment thereof; matters subordinate and incidental to these matters or any
of them
2' In this definition the expressions "taxation", "public money" and "loan"
respectively do not include any taxation, money or loan raised by local
authorities or bodies for local purposes.
2. 1' The Chairman of Da/il E/ireann shall certify any Bill which, in his
opinion, is a Money Bill to be a Money Bill, and his certificate shall, subject
to the subsequent provisions of this section, be final and conclusive.
2' Seanad E/ireann, by a resolution. passed at a sitting at which not less
than thirty members are present, may request the President to refer the
question whether the Bill is or is not a Money Bill to a Committee of
Privileges.
3' If the President after consultation with the Council of State decides to
accede to the request he shall appoint a Committee of Privilege consisting of
an equal number of members of Da/il E/ireann and of Seanad E/ireann and a
Chairman who shall be a judge of the Supreme Court: these appointments shall be
made after consultation with the Council of State. In the case of an equality
of votes but not otherwise the chairman shall be entitled to vote
4' The President shall refer the question to the Committee of Privileges so
appointed and the Committee shall report its decision thereon to the President
within twenty-one days after the day on which the Bill was sent to Seanad
E/ireann
5' The decision of the Committee shall be final and conclusive.
6' If the President after consultation with the Council of State decides not to
accede to the request of Seanad E/ireann, or if the Committee of Privileges
fails to report within the time herein before specified the certificate of the
Chairman of Da/il E/ireann shall stand confirmed.
Time for Consideration of Bills.
Article 23.
1. This Article applies to every Bill passed by Da/il E/ireann and sent to
Seanad E/ireann other than a Money Bill or a Bill the time for the
consideration of which by Seanad E/ireann shall have been abridged under
Article 24 of this Constitution.
1' Whenever a Bill to which this Article applies is within the stated period
defined in the next following sub-section either rejected by Seanad E/ireann or
passed by Seanad E/ireann with amendments to which Da/il E/ireann does not
agree or is neither passed (with or without amendment) nor rejected by Seanad
E/ireann within the stated period, the Bill shall, if Da/il E/ireann so
resolves within one hundred and eighty days after the expiration of the stated
period be deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on the
day on which the resolution is passed.
2' The stated period is the period of ninety days commencing on the day on
which the Bill is first sent by Da/il E/ireann to Seanad E/ireann or any longer
period agreed upon in respect of the Bill by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
2. 1' The preceding section of this Article shall apply to a Bill which is
initiated in and passed by Seanad E/ireann, amended by Da/il E/ireann, and
accordingly deemed to have been initiated in Da/il E/ireann.
2' For the purpose of this application the stated period shall in relation to
such a Bill commence on the day on which the Bill is first sent to Seanad
E/ireann after having been amended by Da/il E/ireann.
Article 24.
1. If and whenever on the passage by Da/il E/ireann of any Bill, other than a
Bill expressed to be a Bill containing a proposal to amend the Constitution,
the Taoiseach certifies by messages in writing addressed to the President and
to the Chairman of each House of the Oireachtas that, in the opinion of the
Government, the Bill is urgent and immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace and security, or by reason of the existence of a public
emergency, whether domestic or international, the time for the consideration of
such Bill by Seanad E/ireann shall, if Da/il E/ireann so resolves and if the
President, after consultation with the Council of State, concurs, be abridged
to such period as shall be specified in the resolution.
2. Where a Bill, the time for the consideration of which by Seanad E/ireann
has been abridged under this Article,
(a) is, in the case of a Bill which is not a Money Bill, rejected by Seanad
E/ireann or passed by Seanad E/ireann with amendments to which Da/il E/ireann
does not agree or neither passed nor rejected by Seanad E/ireann, or
(b) is, in the case of a Money Bill, either returned by Seanad E/ireann to
Da/il E/ireann with recommendations which Da/il E/ireann does not accept or is
not returned by Seanad E/ireann to Da/il E/ireann,
within the period specified in the resolution, the Bill shall be deemed to have
been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas at the expiration of that period.
3. When a Bill the time for the consideration of which by Seanad E/ireann has
been abridged under this Article becomes law it shall remain in force for a
period of ninety days from the date of its enactment and no longer unless,
before the expiration of that period, both Houses shall have agreed that such
law shall remain in force for a longer period and the longer period so agreed
upon shall have been specified in resolutions passed by both Houses.
Signing and Promulgation of Laws.
Article 25.
1. As soon as any Bill, other than a Bill expressed to be a Bill containing a
proposal for the amendment to this Constitution, shall have been passed or
deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, the Taoiseach
shall present it to the President for his signature and for promulgation by him
as a law in accordance with the provisions of this Article
2. 1' Save as otherwise provided by this Constitution, every Bill so presented
to the President for his signature and for promulgation by him as a law shall
be signed by the President not earlier than the fifth and not later than the
seventh day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.
2' At the request of the Government, with the prior concurrence of Seanad
E/ireann, the President may sign any Bill the subject of such request on a date
which is earlier than the fifth day after such date as aforesaid
3. Every Bill the time for the consideration of which by Seanad E/ireann shall
have been abridged under Article 24 of this Constitution shall be signed by the
President on the day on which such Bill is presented to him for signature and
promulgation as a law.
4. 1' Every Bill shall become and be law as on and from the day on which it is
signed by the President under this Constitution, and shall, unless the contrary
intention appears, come into operation on that day.
2' Every Bill signed by the President under this Constitution shall be
promulgated by him as a law by the publication by his direction of a notice in
the Iris Oifigiu/il stating that the Bill has become law.
3' Every Bill shall be signed by the President in the text in which it was
passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, and if a
Bill is so passed or deemed to have been passed in both the official languages,
the President shall sign the text of the Bill in each of those languages.
4' Where the President signs the text of a Bill in one only of the official
languages, an official translation shall be issued in the other official
language.
5' As soon as may be after the signature and promulgation of a Bill as a law,
the text of such law which was signed by the President or, where the President
has signed the text of such law in each of the official languages, both the
signed texts shall be enrolled for record in the office of the Registrar of the
Supreme Court, and the text, or both the texts, so enrolled shall be conclusive
evidence of the provisions of such law.
6' In case of conflict between the texts of a law enrolled under this section
in both the official languages, the text in the national language shall
prevail.
5. 1' It shall be lawful for the Taoiseach, from time to time as occasion
appears to him to require, to cause to be prepared under his supervision a text
(in both the official languages) of this Constitution as then in force
embodying all amendments theretofore made therein.
2' A copy of every text so prepared, when authenticated by the signatures of
the Taoiseach and the Chief Justice, shall be signed by the President and shall
be enrolled for record in the office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
3' The copy so signed and enrolled which is for the time being the latest text
so prepared shall, upon such enrollment, be conclusive evidence of this
Constitution as at the date of such enrollment and shall for that purpose
supersede all texts of this Constitution of which copies were previously so
enrolled.
4' In case of conflict between the texts of any copy of this Constitution
enrolled under this section, the text in the national language shall prevail.
Reference of Bills to the Supreme Court.
Article 26.
This Article applies to any Bill passed or deemed to have been passed by both
Houses of the Oireachtas other than a Money Bill, or a Bill expressed to be a
Bill containing a proposal to amend the Constitution, or a Bill the time for
the consideration of which by Seanad E/ireann shall have been abridged under
Article 24 of the Constitution.
1. 1' The President may, after consultation with the Council of State, refer
any Bill to which this Article applies to the Supreme Court for a decision on
the question as to whether such Bill or any specified provision or provisions
of such Bill is or are repugnant to this Constitution or to any provision
thereof.
2' Every such reference shall be made not later than the seventh day after the
date on which such Bill have been presented by the Taoiseach to the President
for his signature.
3' The President shall not sign any Bill the subject of a reference to the
Supreme Court under this Article pending the pronouncement of the decision of
the Court.
2. 1' The Supreme Court consisting of not less than five judges shall consider
every question referred to it by the President under this Article for a
decision, and, having heard arguments by or on behalf of the Attorney General
and by counsel assigned by the Court, shall pronounce its decision on such
question in open court as soon as may be, and in any case not later than sixty
days after the date of such reference.
2' The decision of the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court shall, for
the purposes of this Article, be the decision of the Court and shall be
pronounced by such one of those judges as the Court shall direct, and no other
opinion, whether assenting or dissenting, shall be pronounced nor shall the
existence of any such other opinion be disclosed.
3. 1' In every case in which the Supreme Court decides that any provision of a
Bill the subject of a reference to the Supreme Court under this Article is
repugnant to this Constitution or to any provision thereof, the President shall
decline to sign such Bill.
2' If, in the case of a Bill to which Article 27 of this Constitution applies,
a petition has been addressed to the President under that Article, that Article
shall be complied with.
3' In every other case the President shall sign the Bill as soon as may be
after the date on which the decision of the Supreme Court shall have been
pronounced.
Reference of Bills to the People.
Article 27.
This Article applies to any Bill, other than a Bill expressed to be a Bill
containing a proposal for the amendment of this Constitution, which shall have
been deemed, by virtue of Article 23 hereof, to have been passed by both Houses
of the Oireachtas.
1. A majority of the members of Seanad E/ireann and not less than one-third of
the members of Da/il E/ireann may by a joint petition addressed to the
President by them under this Article request the President to decline to sign
and promulgate as a law any Bill to which this article applies on the ground
that the Bill contains a proposal of such national importance that the will of
the people thereon ought to be ascertained.
2. Every such petition shall be in writing and shall be signed by the
petitioners whose signatures shall be verified in the manner prescribed by law.
3. Every such petition shall contain a statement of the particular ground or
grounds on which the request is based, and shall be presented to the President
not later than four days after the date on which the Bill shall have been
deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
4. 1' Upon receipt of a petition addressed to him under this Article, the
President shall forthwith consider such petition and shall, after consultation
with the Council of State, pronounce his decision thereon not later than ten
days after the date on which the Bill to which such petition relates shall have
been deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
2' If the Bill or any provision thereof is or has been referred to the Supreme
Court under Article 26 of this Constitution, it shall not be obligatory on the
President to consider the petition unless or until the Supreme Court has
pronounced a decision on such reference to the effect that the said Bill or the
said provision thereof is not repugnant to this Constitution or to any
provision thereof, and, if a decision to that effect is pronounced by the
Supreme Court, it shall not be obligatory on the President to pronounce his
decision on the petition before the expiration of six days after the day on
which the decision of the Supreme Court to the effect aforesaid is pronounced.
5. 1' In every case in which the President decides that a Bill the subject of
a petition under this Article contains a proposal of such national importance
that the will of the people thereon ought to be ascertained, he shall inform
the Taoiseach and the Chairman of each House of the Oireachtas accordingly in
writing under his hand and Seal and shall decline to sign and promulgate such
Bill as a law unless and until the proposal shall have been approved either
i. by the people at a Referendum in accordance with the provisions of section
2 of Article 47 of this Constitution within a period of eighteen months from
the date of the President's decision, or
ii. by a resolution of Da/il E/ireann passed within the said period after a
dissolution and reassembly of Da/il E/ireann.
2' Whenever a proposal contained in a Bill the subject of a petition under this
Article shall have been approved either by the people or by a resolution of
Da/il E/ireann in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section,
such Bill shall as soon as may be after such approval be presented to the
President for his signature and promulgation by him as a law and the President
shall thereupon sign the Bill and duly promulgate it as a law.
6. In every case in which the President decides that a Bill the subject of a
petition under this Article does not contain a proposal of such national
importance that the will of the people thereon ought to be ascertained, he
shall inform the Taoiseach and the Chairman of each House of the Oireachtas
accordingly in writing under his hand and Seal, and such Bill shall be signed
by the President not later than eleven days after the date on which the Bill
shall have been deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas and
shall be duly promulgated by him as a law.
THE GOVERNMENT.
Article 28.
1. The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than
fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the
provisions of this Constitution.
2. The executive power of the State shall, subject to the provisions of this
Constitution, be exercised by or on the authority of the Government.
3. 1' War shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war
save with the assent of Da/il E/ireann
2' In the case of actual invasion, however, the Government may take whatever
steps they may consider necessary for the protection of the State, and Da/il
E/ireann if not sitting shall be summoned to meet at the earliest practicable
date.
3' Nothing in this Constitution shall be invoked to invalidate any law enacted
by the Oireachtas which is expressed to be for the purpose of securing the
public safety and the preservation of the State in time of war or armed
rebellion, or to nullify any act done or purporting to be done in time of war
or armed rebellion in pursuance of any such law. In this subsection "time of
war" includes a time when there is taking place an armed conflict in which the
State is not a participant but in respect of which each of the Houses of the
Oireachtas shall have resolved that, arising out of such armed conflict, a
national emergency exists affecting the vital interests of the State and "time
of war or armed rebellion" includes such time after the termination of any war,
or of any such armed conflict as aforesaid, or of an armed rebellion, as may
elapse until each of the Houses of the Oireachtas shall have resolved that the
national emergency occasioned by such war, armed conflict, or armed rebellion
has ceased to exist.
4. 1' The Government shall be responsible to Da/il Eireann.
2' The Government shall meet and act collective authority, and shall be
collectively responsible for the Departments of State administered by the
members of the Government.
3' The Government shall prepare Estimates of the Receipts and Estimates of the
Expenditure of the State for each financial year, and shall present them to
Da/il Eireann for consideration.
5. 1' The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is
in this Constitution referred to as. the Taoiseach.
2' The Taoiseach shall keep the President generally informed on matters of
domestic and international policy.
6. 1' The Taoiseach shall nominate a member of the Government to he the
Ta/naiste
2' The Ta/naiste shall act for all purposes in the place of the Taoiseach if
the Taoiseach should die, or become permanently incapacitated, until a new
Taoiseach shall have been appointed.
3' The Ta/naiste shall also act for or in the place of the Taoiseach during the
temporary absence of the Taoiseach.
7. 1' The Taoiseach, the Ta/naiste and the member of the Government who is in
charge of the Department of Finance must be members of Da/il E/ireann.
2' The other members of the Government must be members of Da/il E/ireann or
Seanad E/ireann, but not more than two may be members of Seanad E/ireann.
8. Every member of the Government shall have the right to attend and be heard
in each House of the Oireachtas.
9. 1' The Taoiseach may resign from office at any time by placing his
resignation in the hands of the President.
2' Any other member of the Government may resign from office by placing his
resignation in the hands of the Taoiseach for submission to the President.
3' The President shall accept the resignation of a member of the Government,
other than the Taoiseach, if so advised by the Taoiseach.
4' The Taoiseach may at any time, for reasons which to him seem sufficient,
request a member of the Government to resign; should the member concerned fail
to comply with the request, his appointment shall be terminated by the
President if the Taoiseach so advises.
10. The Taoiseach shall resign from office upon his ceasing to retain the
support of a majority in Da/il E/ireann unless on his advice the President
dissolves Da/il E/ireann and on the reassembly of Da/il E/ireann after the
dissolution the Taoiseach secures the support of a majority in Da/il E/ireann.
11. 1' If the Taoiseach at any time resigns from office the other members of
the Government shall be deemed also to have resigned from office, but the
Taoiseach and the other members of the Government shall continue to carry on
their duties until their successors shall have been appointed.
2' The members of the Government in office at the date of a dissolution of
Da/il E/ireann shall continue to hold office until their successors shall have
been appointed.
12. The following matters shall be regulated in accordance with law, namely,
the organization of, and distribution of business amongst, Departments of
State, the designation of members of the Government to be the Ministers in
charge of the said Departments, the discharge of the functions of the office of
a member of the Government during his temporary absence or incapacity, and the
remuneration of the members of the Government.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Article 29.
1. Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation
amongst nations founded on international justice and morality.
2. Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of
international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.
3. Ireland accepts the generally recognized principles of international law as
its rule of conduct in its relations with other States.
4. 1' The executive power of the State in or in connection with its external
relations shall in accordance with Article 28 of this Constitution be exercised
by or on the authority of the Government.
2' For the purpose of the exercise of any executive function of the State in or
in connection with its external relations, the Government may to such extent
and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be determined by law, avail of
or adopt any organ, instrument, or method of procedure used or adopted for the
like purpose by the members of any group or league of nations with which the
State is or becomes associated for the purpose of international cooperation in
matters of common concern.
3' The State may become a member of the European Coal and Steel Community
(established by Treaty signed at Paris on the 18th day of April, 1951),
the European Economic Community (established by Treaty signed at Rome on the
25th day of March, 1957) and the European Atomic Energy Community (established
by Treaty signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957). The State may ratify
the Single European Act (signed on behalf of the Member States of the
Communities at Luxembourg on the 17th day of February, 1986, and at the Hague
on the 28th day of February, 1986). No provision of this Constitution
invalidates laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State
necessitated by the obligations of membership of the Communities or prevents
laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the Communities, or institutions
thereof, from having the force of law in the State.
5. 1' Every international agreement to which the State becomes a party shall
be laid before Da/il E/ireann.
2' The State shall not be bound by any international agreement involving a
charge upon public funds unless the terms of the agreement shall have been
approved by Da/il E/ireann.
3' This section shall not apply to agreements or conventions of a technical and
administrative character.
6. No international agreement shall be part of the domestic law of the State
save as may be determined by the Oireachtas.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Article 30.
1. There shall be an Attorney General who shall be the adviser of the
Government in matters of law and legal opinion, and shall exercise and perform
all such powers, functions and duties as are conferred or imposed on him by
this Constitution or by law.
2. The Attorney General shall be appointed by the President on the nomination
of the Taoiseach.
3. All crimes and offenses prosecuted in any court constituted under Article
34 of this Constitution other than a court of summary jurisdiction shall be
prosecuted in the name of the People and at the suit of the Attorney General or
some other person authorized in accordance with law to act for that purpose.
4. The Attorney General shall not be a member of the Government.
5. 1' The Attorney General may at any time resign from office by placing his
resignation in the hands of the Taoiseach for submission to the President.
2' The Taoiseach may, for reasons which to him seem sufficient, request the
resignation of the Attorney General.
3' In the event of failure to comply with the request, the appointment of the
Attorney General shall be terminated by the President if the Taoiseach so
advises.
4' The Attorney General shall retire from office upon the resignation of the
Taoiseach, but may continue to carry on his duties until the successor to the
Taoiseach shall have been appointed.
6. Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Article, the office of Attorney
General, including the remuneration to be paid to the holder of the office,
shall be regulated by law.
THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL.
Article 33.
1. There shall be a Comptroller and Auditor General to control on behalf of
the State all disbursements and to audit all accounts of moneys administered by
or under the authority of the Oireachtas.
The Comptroller and Auditor General shall be appointed by the President on the
nomination of Da/il E/ireann.
3. The Comptroller and Auditor General shall not be a member of either House
of the Oireachtas and shall not hold any other office or position of emolument.
4. The Comptroller and Auditor General shall report to Da/il E/ireann at
stated periods as determined by law.
5. 1' The Comptroller and Auditor General shall not be removed from office
except for stated misbehaviour or incapacity, and then only upon resolutions
passed by Da/il E/ireann and by Seanad E/ireann calling for his removal.
2' The Taoiseach shall duly notify the President of any such resolutions as
aforesaid passed by Da/il E/ireann and by Seanad E/ireann and shall send him a
copy of each such resolution certified by the Chairman of the House of the
Oireachtas by which it shall have been passed.
3' Upon receipt of such notification and of copies of such resolutions, the
President shall forthwith, by an order under his hand and Seal, remove the
Comptroller and Auditor General from office.
6. Subject to the foregoing, the terms and conditions of the office of
Comptroller and Auditor General shall be determined by law.
THE COURTS.
Article 34.
1. Justice shall be administered in courts established by law by judges
appointed in the manner provided by this Constitution, and, save in such
special and limited cases as may be prescribed by law, shall be administered in
public.
2. The Courts shall comprise Courts of First Instance and a Court of Final
Appeal.
3. 1' The Courts of First Instance shall include a High Court invested with
full original jurisdiction in and power to determine all matters and questions
whether of law or fact, civil or criminal.
2' Save as otherwise provided by this Article, the jurisdiction of the High
Court shall extend to the question of the validity of any law having regard to
the provisions of this Constitution, and no such question shall be raised
(whether by pleading, argument or otherwise) in any Court established under
this or any other Article of this Constitution other than the High Court or the
Supreme Court.
3' No Court whatever shall have jurisdiction to question the validity of a law,
or any provision of a law, the Bill for which shall have been referred to the
Supreme Court by the President under Article 26 of this Constitution, or to
question the validity of a provision of a law where the corresponding provision
in the Bill for such law shall have been referred to the Supreme Court by the
President under the said Article 26.
4' The Courts of First Instance shall also include Courts of local and limited
jurisdiction with a right of appeal as determined by law.
4. 1' The Court of Final Appeal shall be called the Supreme Court.
2' The president of the Supreme Court shall be called the Chief Justice.
3' The Supreme Court shall, with such exceptions and subject to such
regulations as may be prescribed by law, have appellate jurisdiction from all
decisions of the High Court, and shall also have appellate jurisdiction from
such decisions of other courts as may be prescribed by law.
4' No law shall be enacted excepting from the appellate jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court cases which involve questions as to the validity of any law
having regard to the provisions of this Constitution.
5' The decision of the Supreme Court on a question as to the validity of a law
having regard to the provisions of this Constitution shall be pronounced by
such one of the judges of that Court as that Court shall direct, and no other
opinion on such question, whether assenting or dissenting, shall be pronounced,
nor shall the existence of any such other opinion be disclosed.
6' The decision of the Supreme Court shall in all cases be final and
conclusive.
5. 1' Every person appointed a judge under this
Constitution shall make and subscribe the following declaration:
"In the presence of Almighty God I,
do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will duly and faithfully
and to the best of my knowledge and power execute the office of Chief Justice
(or as the case may be) without fear or favor, affection or ill-will towards
any man, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. May God direct
and sustain me."
2' This declaration shall be made and subscribed by the Chief Justice in the
presence of the President, and by each of the other judges of the Supreme
Court, the judges of the High Court and the judges of every other Court in the
presence of the Chief Justice or the senior available judge of the Supreme
Court in open court.
3' The declaration shall be made and subscribed by every judge before entering
upon his duties as such judge, and in any case not later than ten days after
the date of his appointment or such later date as may be determined by the
President.
4' Any judge who declines or neglects to make such declaration as aforesaid
shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
Article 35.
1. The judges of the Supreme Court, the High Court and all other Courts
established in pursuance of Article 34 hereof shall be appointed by the
President.
2. All judges shall be independent in the exercise of their judicial functions
and subject only to this Constitution and the law.
3. No judge shall be eligible to be a member of either House of the Oireachtas
or to hold any other office or position of emolument.
4. 1' A judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court shall not be removed from
office except for stated misbehaviour or incapacity, and then only upon
resolutions passed by Da/il E/ireann and by Seanad E/ireann calling for his
removal.
2' The Taoiseach shall duly notify the President of any such resolutions passed
by Da/il E/ireann and by Seanad E/ireann, and shall send him a copy of every
such resolution certified by the Chairman of the House of the Oireachtas by
which it shall have been passed.
3' Upon receipt of such notification and of copies of such resolutions, the
President shall forthwith, by an order under his hand and Seal, remove from
office the judge to whom they relate.
5. The remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in
office.
Article 36.
Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Constitution relating to the
Courts, the following matters shall be regulated in accordance with law, that
is to say:--
i. the number of judges of the Supreme Court, and of the High Court, the
remuneration, age of retirement and pensions of such judges,
ii. the number of the judges of all other Courts, and their terms of
appointment, and
iii. the constitution and organization of the said Courts, the distribution of
jurisdiction and business among the said Courts and judges, and all matters of
procedure.
Article 37.
1. Nothing in this Constitution shall operate to invalidate the exercise of
limited functions and powers of a judicial nature, in matters other than
criminal matters, by any person or body of persons duly authorized by law to
exercise such functions and powers, notwithstanding that such person or such
body of persons is not a judge or a court appointed or established as such
under this Constitution.
2. No adoption of a person taking effect or expressed to take effect at any
time after the coming into operation of this Constitution under laws enacted by
the Oireachtas and being an adoption pursuant to an order made or an
authorization given by any person or body of persons designated by those laws
to exercise such functions and powers was or shall be invalid by reason only of
the fact that such person or body of persons was not a judge or a court
appointed or established as such under this Constitution.
TRIAL OF OFFENSES.
Article 38.
1. No person shall be tried on any criminal charge save in due course of law.
2. Minor offenses may be tried by courts of summary jurisdiction.
3. 1' Special courts may be established by law for the trial of offenses in
cases where it may be determined in accordance with such law that the ordinary
courts are inadequate to secure the effective the effective administration of
justice, and the preservation of public peace and order.
2' The constitution, powers, jurisdiction and procedure of such special courts
shall be prescribed by law.
4. 1' Military tribunals may be established for the trial of offenses against
military law alleged to have been committed by persons while subject to
military law and also to deal with a state of war or armed rebellion .
2' A member of the Defense Forces not on active service shall not be tried by
any courtmartial or other military tribunal for an offense cognizable by the
civil courts unless such offense is within the jurisdiction of any courtmartial
or other military tribunal under any law for the enforcement of military
discipline.
5. Save in the case of the trial of offenses under section 2, section 3 or
section 4 of this Article no person shall be tried on any criminal charge
without a jury.
6. The provisions of Articles 34 and 35 of this Constitution shall not apply
to any court or tribunal set up under section 3 or section 4 of this Article.
Article 39.
Treason shall consist only in levying war against the State, or assisting any
State or person or inciting or conspiring with any person to levy war against
the State, or attempting by force of arms or other violent means to overthrow
the organs of government established by this Constitution, or taking part or
being concerned in or inciting or conspiring with any person to make or to take
part or be concerned in any such attempt.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS.
Personal Rights.
Article 40.
1. All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law.
This shall not be held to mean that the State shall not in its enactments have
due regard to differences of capacity, physical and moral, and of social
function.
2. 1' Titles of nobility shall not be conferred by the State.
2' No title of nobility or of honor may be accepted by any citizen except with
the prior approval of the Government.
3. 1' The State guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable,
by its laws to defend and vindicate the personal rights of the citizen.
2' The State shall, in particular, by its laws protect as best it may from
unjust attack and, in the case of injustice done, vindicate the life, person,
good name, and property rights of every citizen.
3' The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard
to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect,
and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.
4. 1' No citizen shall be deprived of his personal liberty save in accordance
with law.
2' Upon complaint being made by or on behalf of any person to the High Court or
any judge thereof alleging that such person is being unlawfully detained, the
High Court and any and every judge thereof to whom such complaint is made shall
forthwith inquire into the said complaint and may order the person in whose
custody such person is detained to produce the body of such person before the
High Court on a named day and to certify in writing the grounds of his
detention, and the High Court shall, upon the body of such person being
produced before that Court and after giving the person in whose custody he is
detained an opportunity of justifying the detention, order the release of such
person from such detention unless satisfied that he is being detained in
accordance with the law.
3' Where the body of a person alleged to be unlawfully detained is produced
before the High Court in pursuance of an order in that behalf made under this
section and that Court is satisfied that such person is being detained in
accordance with a law but that such law is invalid having regard to the
provisions of this Constitution, the High Court shall refer the question of the
validity of such law to the Supreme Court by way of case stated and may, at the
time of such reference or at any time thereafter, allow the said person to be
at liberty on such bail and subject to such conditions as the High Court shall
fix until the Supreme Court has determined the question so referred to it.
4' The High Court before which the body of a person alleged to be unlawfully
detained is to be produced in pursuance of an order in that behalf made under
this section shall, if the President of the High Court or, if he is not
available, the senior judge of that Court who is available so directs in
respect of any particular case, consist of three judges and shall, in every
other case, consist of one judge only.
5' Where an order is made under this section by the High Court or a judge
thereof for the production of the body of a person who is under sentence of
death, the High Court or such judge thereof shall further order that the
execution of the said sentence of death shall be deferred until after the body
of such person has been produced before the High Court and the lawfulness of
his detention has been determined and if, after such deferment, the detention
of such person is determined to be lawful, the High Court shall appoint a day
for the execution of the said sentence of death and that sentence shall have
effect with the substitution of the day so appointed for the day originally
fixed for the execution thereof.
6' Nothing in this section, however, shall be invoked to prohibit, control, or
interfere with any act of the Defense Forces during the existence of a state of
war or armed rebellion.
5. The dwelling of every citizen is inviolable and shall not be forcibly
entered save in accordance with law.
6. 1' The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights,
subject to public order and morality:--
i. The right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions.
The education of public opinion being, however, a matter of such grave import
to the common good, the State shall endeavor to ensure that organs of public
opinion, such as the radio, the press, the cinema, while preserving their
rightful liberty of expression, including criticism of Government policy, shall
not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the
State.
The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is
an offense which shall be punishable in accordance with law.
ii. The right of the citizens to assemble peaceably and without arms.
Provision may be made by law to prevent or control meetings which are
determined in accordance with law to be calculated to cause a breach of the
peace or to be a danger or nuisance to the general public and to prevent or
control meetings in the vicinity of either House of the Oireachtas.
iii. The right of the citizens to form associations and unions.
Laws, however, may be enacted for the regulation and control in the public
interest of the exercise of the foregoing right.
2' Laws regulating the manner in which the right of forming associations and
unions and the right of free assembly may be exercised shall contain no
political, religious or class discrimination.
The Family.
Article 41.
1. 1' The State recognizes the Family as the natural primary and fundamental
unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and
imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.
2' The State, therefore, guarantees to protect the Family in its constitution
and authority, as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to
the welfare of the Nation and the State.
2. 1' In particular, the State recognizes that by her life within the home,
woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be
achieved.
2' The State shall, therefore, endeavor to ensure that mothers shall not be
obliged by economic necessity to engage in Labour to the neglect of their
duties in the home.
3. 1' The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of
Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.
2' No law shall be enacted providing for the grant of a dissolution of
marriage.
3' No person whose marriage has been dissolved under the civil law of any other
State but is a subsisting valid marriage under the law for the time being in
force within the jurisdiction of the Government and Parliament established by
this Constitution shall be capable of contracting a valid marriage within that
jurisdiction during the lifetime of the other party to the marriage so
dissolved.
Education.
Article 42.
1. The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child
is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of
parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral,
intellectual, physical and social education of their children.
2. Parents shall be free to provide this education in their homes or in
private schools or in schools recognized or established by the State.
3. 1' The State shall not oblige parents in violation of their conscience and
lawful preference to send their children to schools established by the State,
or to any particular type of school designated by the State.
2' The State shall, however, as guardian of the common good, require in view of
actual conditions that the children receive a certain minimum education.
moral. intellectual and social.
4. The State shall provide for free primary education and shall endeavor to
supplement and give reasonable aid to private and corporate educational
initiative, and, when the public good requires it, provide other educational
facilities or institutions with due regard, however, for the rights of parents,
especially in the matter of religious and moral formation .
5. In exceptional cases, where the parents for physical or moral reasons fail
in their duty towards their children, the State as guardian of the common good,
by appropriate means shall endeavor to supply the place of the parents, but
always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child.
Private Property.
Article 43.
1. 1' The State acknowledges that man, in virtue of his rational being, has
the natural right, antecedent to positive law, to the private ownership of
external goods.
2' The State accordingly guarantees to pass no law attempting to abolish the
right of private ownership or the general right to transfer, bequeath, and
inherit property.
2. 1' The State recognizes, however, that the exercise of the rights mentioned
in the foregoing provisions of this Article ought, in civil society, to be
regulated by the principles of social justice.
2' The State, accordingly, may as occasion requires delimit by law the exercise
of the said rights with a view to reconciling their exercise with the
exigencies of the common good.
Religion.
Article 44.
1. The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty
God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honor
religion.
2. 1' Freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion
are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen.
2' The State guarantees not to endow any religion.
3' The State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on
the ground of religious profession, belief or status.
4' Legislation providing State aid for schools shall not discriminate between
schools under the management of different religious denominations, nor be such
as to affect prejudicially the right of any child to attend a school receiving
public money without attending religious instruction at that school.
5' Every religious denomination shall have the right to manage its own affairs,
own, acquire and administer property, movable and immovable, and maintain
institutions for religious or charitable purposes .
6' The property of any religious denomination or any educational institution
shall not be diverted save for necessary works of public utility and on payment
of compensation.
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL POLICY.
Article 45.
The principles of social policy set forth in this Article are intended for the
general guidance of the Oireachtas. The application of those principles in the
making of laws shall be the care of the Oireachtas exclusively, and shall not
be cognizable by any Court under any of the provisions of this Constitution.
1. The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the whole people by
securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which
justice and charity shall inform all the institutions of the national life.
2. The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing:--
i. That the citizens (all of whom, men and women equally, have the right to an
adequate means of livelihood) may through their occupations find the means of
making reasonable provision for their domestic needs.
ii. That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community
may be so distributed amongst private individuals and the various classes as
best to subserve the common good.
iii. That, especially, the operation o~ free competition shall not be allowed
so to develop as to result in the concentration of the ownership or control of
essential commodities in a few individuals to the common detriment.
iv. That in what pertains to the control of credit the constant and
predominant aim shall be the welfare of the people as a whole.
v. That there may be established on the land in economic security as many
families as in the circumstances shall be practicable.
3. 1' The State shall favor and, where necessary, supplement private
initiative in industry and commerce.
2' The State shall endeavor to secure that private enterprise shall be so
conducted as to ensure reasonable efficiency in the production and distribution
of goods and as to protect the public against unjust exploitation.
4. 1' The State pledges itself to safeguard with especial care the economic
interests of the weaker sections of the community, and, where necessary, to
contribute to the support of the infirm, the widow, the orphan, and the aged.
2' The State shall endeavor to ensure that the strength and health of workers,
men and women, and the tender age of children shall not be abused and that
citizens shall not be forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited
to their sex, age or strength.
AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Article 46.
1. Any provision of this Constitution may be amended, whether by way of
variation, addition, or repeal, in the manner provided by this Article.
2. Every proposal for an amendment of this Constitution shall be initiated in
Da/il E/ireann as a Bill, and shall upon having been passed or deemed to have
been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, be submitted by Referendum to the
decision of the people in accordance with the law for the time being in force
relating to the Referendum.
3. Every such Bill shall be expressed to be "An Act to amend the
Constitution".
4. A Bill containing a proposal or proposals for the amendment of this
Constitution shall not contain any other proposal.
>5. A Bill containing a proposal for the amendment of this Constitution shall
be signed by the President forthwith upon his being satisfied that the
provisions of this Article have been complied with in respect thereof and that
such proposal has been duly approved by the people in accordance with the
provisions of section I of Article 47 of this Constitution and shall be duly
promulgated by the President as a law.
THE REFERENDUM.
Article 47.
1. Every proposal for an amendment of this Constitution which is submitted by
Referendum to the decision of the people shall, for the purpose of Article 46
of this Constitution, be held to have been approved by the people, if, upon
having been so submitted, a majority of the votes cast at such Referendum shall
have been cast in favor of its enactment into law.
1' Every proposal, other than a proposal to amend the Constitution, which is
submitted by Referendum to the decision of the people shall be held to have
been vetoed by the people if a majority of the votes cast at such Referendum
shall have been cast against its enactment into law and if the votes so cast
against its enactment into law shall have amounted to not less than
thirty-three and one-third per cent. of the voters on the register.
2' Every proposal, other than a proposal to amend the Constitution, which is
submitted by Referendum to the decision of the people shall for the purposes of
Article 27 hereof be held to have been approved by the people unless vetoed by
them in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing sub-section of this
section.
3. Every citizen who has the right to vote at an election for members of Da/il
E/ireann shall have the right to vote at a Referendum.
4. Subject as aforesaid, the Referendum shall be regulated by law.
REPEAL OF CONSTITUTION OF SAORSTA/T E/IREANN AND CONTINUANCE OF LAWS.
Article 48.
The Constitution of Saorsta/t E/ireann in force immediately prior to the date
of the coming into operation of this Constitution and the Constitution of the
Irish Free State (Saorsta/t E/ireann) Act. 1922, in so far as that Act or any
provision thereof is then in force shall be and are hereby repealed as on and
from that date.
Article 49.
1. All powers, functions, rights and prerogatives whatsoever exercisable in or
in respect of Saorsta/t Eireann immediately before the 11th day of December,
1936, whether in virtue of the Constitution then in force or otherwise, by the
authority in which the executive power of Saorsta/t Eireann was then vested are
hereby declared to belong to the people.
2. It is hereby enacted that, save to the extent to which provision is made by
this Constitution or may hereafter be made by law for the exercise of any such
power, function, right or prerogative by any of the organs established by this
Constitution, the said powers, functions, rights and prerogatives shall not be
exercised or be capable of being exercised in or in respect of the State save
only by or on the authority of the Government.
3. The Government shall be the successors of the Government of Saorsta/t
E/ireann as regards all property, assets, rights and liabilities.
Article 50.
1. Subject to this Constitution and to the extent to which they are not
inconsistent therewith, the laws in force in Saorsta/t E/ireann immediately
prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution shall
continue to be of full force and effect until the same or any of them shall
have been repealed or amended by enactment of the Oireachtas.
2. Laws enacted before, but expressed to come into force after, the coming
into operation of this Constitution, shall, unless otherwise enacted by the
Oireachtas, come into force in accordance with the terms thereof.
Dochum Glo/ire De/
egos
Ono/ra na hE/ireann.
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