Constitutional Law

A new draft of the cabinet manual needs to be produced as soon as possible for it to remain useful, according to the House of Lords Constitution Committee. In a report published today, the committee has emphasised that as the cabinet manual is now a decade old, it needs to be updated or risk be

A private member's bill providing for a referendum on enshrining the right to housing in the Constitution cleared second stage in the Dáil last night. The Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Housing) Bill 2020, sponsored by socialist TDs Richard Boyd Barrett, Paul Murphy, Mic

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in a significant ruling relating to the administration of justice in the State. It was held that the WRC process was not unconstitutional due to the lack of an appeal to the courts. Although the cour

A legal case arguing that the Scottish Parliament should be able to pass a law to hold an independence referendum without the consent of the UK government has failed in the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Declarator to this effect was sought by Martin James Keatings. He also argued that no amendment

House of Lords committees have criticised the UK government for its growing use of skeleton legislation and the shift in power from Parliament to the executive. Chairs of three influential select committees, with responsibility for scrutinising all legislation before Parliament, have written to Jaco

Andrew McKeown BL, law lecturer and practising barrister at The Bar of Ireland, considers the procedure for the removal of a judge under the Irish Constitution. As the controversy surrounding Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe continues, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, the Ceann Comhairle, ha

The Supreme Court has ruled that the existing procedure to revoke Irish citizenship from people who acquire Irish nationality is unconstitutional. Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, handing down her ruling in Ali Charaf Damache v the Minister for Justice and Equality today, said there were insufficient saf

The High Court has ruled that the Seanad can only meet after all 60 members have been elected or nominated. The Seanad is comprised of 49 elected members and eleven members have been nominated by a new Taoiseach. The new president of the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine, sat with Ms Justice Niamh

The High Court will be asked to rule on whether the Seanad can sit and pass legislation without the appointment of 11 nominees of the new Taoiseach. Competing legal opinions have been put forward as to the constitutionality of the Seanad sitting without all 60 members as protracted government format

Ireland's constitutional requirement for the president and Council of State members to make a declaration "in the presence of almighty God" is being challenged before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). A group including two TDs and a Senator have submitted to the court that Article 12.8 and

The High Court has dismissed an action challenging the constitutionality of the procedures of the Workplace Relations Commission. Background

Dr Seán Ó Conaill carries out a textual analysis of the Constitution to examine whether the Oireachtas can sit remotely. Reports emerged today that advice has been issued to TDs and Senators which suggests that the Houses of the Oireachtas cannot sit remotely because the text of the Co

The Oireachtas has received legal advice indicating that it cannot convene meetings via video-link, according to reports. The advice centres on the wording of Article 15.1.3, which provides that the "Houses of the Oireachtas shall sit in or near the City of Dublin or in such other place as they may

Professor Oran Doyle and Dr Tom Hickey interrogate whether the Oireachtas can legislate without the appointment of a new Taoiseach. In an email sent to a member of Dáil Éireann over the past few days, the recently re-elected Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, made

The controversial reference to women’s “life within the home” in the Irish constitution should be scrapped, the Citizens' Assembly has said. The body, made up of chairperson Dr Catherine Day and 99 citizens randomly selected to be broadly representative of the Irish electorate, met