Constitutional Law

A landmark conference taking place this year will mark the centenary of independent Ireland's first constitution and the birth of the modern Irish state. Taking place on Monday 5 December, the conference has been jointly convened by the School of Law at the University of Limerick, Maynooth Universit

The Scottish Parliament "plainly" lacks the power to hold an independence referendum, the UK government law officers have said. In October, the UK Supreme Court will determine whether MSPs can legislate for a vote without Westminster's support.

The UK Supreme Court has confirmed a case concerning the Scottish Parliament's right to organise an independence referendum will be heard this October. The Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was referred to the Supreme Court by Scotland's Lord Advocate on the question of whether an advisory refer

The UK Supreme Court has told the UK and Scottish governments that it will consider the issue of whether the latest independence case is premature at the same time it considers the substantive issue of whether it is competent. It made the comments in a reply sent to both sides after the Advocate Gen

Dr Conor McCormick of Queen's University Belfast examines recent developments concerning the office of Attorney General and its equivalents. This month marks the publication of my book on The Constitutional Legitimacy of Law Officers in the United Kingdom, which contains a detailed analysis of the f

The UK needs a new constitutional arbiter due to the fragility of our constitutional conventions, Lord Sumption has said. Writing in The Times, the former Supreme Court justice says that if Prime Minister Boris Johnson "had been not just bad but mad" he could have wrecked the constitution by asking

Scotland's Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain QC, has referred the provisions of the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill to the UK Supreme Court. The bill was introduced yesterday and proposes that a consultative referendum be held on 19 October 2023, Scottish Legal News reports.

The High Court has ruled that a key provision of legislation related to prosecutions of child sexual assault cases is invalid under the Constitution. The plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of section 3 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, which provided that the “reasonable

The Supreme Court has ruled that the President of Ireland is immune from requests for information and documents pursuant to the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014. It was held that the President’s office did not fall within Article 2(2) of the

The Supreme Court has held that the decision of the Minister for Education to exclude certain home-schooled students from the calculated grades scheme in the 2020 Leaving Certificate was invalid. It was held that the Minister’s decision was an unlawful interference with the constitutional righ

A new book exploring the constitutional legitimacy of law officers in the United Kingdom will be published this summer. Authored by Belfast-based legal academic Dr Conor McCormick, the book provides a detailed account of each law officer's functions and draws on that account as the basis for a conce

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dismissed a challenge to the religious language contained in declarations required to take up the office of president. The court unanimously held that the applicants, a group of five Irish politicians, had failed to provide reasonable and convincing evi

The High Court has dismissed a challenge to the constitutionality of the voting system for the Seanad by a graduate of the University of Limerick. The plaintiff claimed that it was unconstitutional that graduates from the University of Dublin (TCD) and the National University of Ireland (NUI) could

Dr Brian Hunt, partner at Ronan Daly Jermyn, responds to the President's comments about the volume of legislation coming through the Oireachtas. Last week the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil and Cathaoirleach of the Seanad each received a letter from President Michael D Higgins. While the letters

Michael Gove will be questioned by peers tomorrow as part of an inquiry into the future governance of the UK, exploring topics such as intergovernmental relations, promoting the Union across Government and funding arrangements. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Of