Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922
Act of Parliament | |
Other legislation | |
---|---|
Repealed by | UK: Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989 RoI: Statute Law Revision Act 2007 |
Status: Repealed |
The Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 (Session 2)[1] was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1922 to enact in UK law the Constitution of the Irish Free State, and to ratify the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty formally.
Provisions
As originally enacted, the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 consisted of a preamble, five sections (three of which were very brief), and a schedule. The schedule was the text of the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act 1922, which had been passed in Ireland by the Third Dáil sitting as a constituent assembly and provisional parliament for the nascent Free State.[2] This Irish Act itself had two schedules, the first being the actual text of the Constitution, and the second the text of the 1921 Treaty (formally, the Articles of Agreement for a treaty between Great Britain and Ireland). The UK Act's preamble quotes section 2 of the Irish Act:
if any provision of the said Constitution or of any amendment thereof or of any law made there under is in any respect repugnant to any of the provisions of the Scheduled Treaty [the Anglo-Irish Treaty], it shall, to the extent only of such repugnancy be absolutely void and inoperative and the
Parliament and the Executive Council of the Irish Free Stateshall respectively pass such further legislation and do such other things as may be necessary to implement the Scheduled Treaty.
- Section 1
- declared the scheduled Constitution would come into effect upon a royal proclamationno later than 6 December 1922.
- Section 2
- made transitory provisions regarding taxation liabilities
- Section 3
- empowered the Free State parliament to adopt legislation applied to other dominions
- Section 4
- was a saver empowering the UK Parliament to pass laws for the Free State on the same basis as for other dominions
- Section 5
- assigned the short title and specified that the Treaty to have been ratified. Article 12 of the Treaty accorded to Northern Ireland the right to secede from the new Free State and rejoin the United Kingdom, giving its parliament a month in which to decide: the so-called Ulster Month. The Treaty had been implicitly accepted by the UK parliament in votes on the King's Speech in December 1921, and most of its provisions had been effected in March 1922 by the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922. However, neither of these events was held to have formally ratified the treaty. This was because the Ulster Month would begin as soon as the treaty had been ratified, and it was felt that the opt-out should not be exercised until after the Free State had come into being. Section 5 of the Irish Free State Constitution Act therefore declared the Act to be the ratification of the treaty for the purposes of the Ulster Month.
Enactment
The Irish Act had been approved by the Irish constituent assembly on 25 October 1922.
The New York Times reported on the passing of the Act on 5 December 1922 as follows:
At 6 o’clock this evening an event of great historic interest and of international importance took place in the
come into operation immediately on the issue of the proclamation.[5]
The New York Times also reported that in Parliament a group of Communists singing "The Red Flag" caused a minor disturbance as the formalities relating to the Act's passage were underway.
Northern Ireland secedes from the Irish Free State
On 7 December 1922, the day after the establishment of the Irish Free State, the Parliament of Northern Ireland addressed the King requesting its secession from Irish Free State.[6] The address was unanimous, with the abstentionist Nationalist and Sinn Féin members absent. The King replied shortly thereafter to say that he had caused his Ministers and the Government of the Irish Free State to be informed that Northern Ireland was to do so.[7]
Position in Irish law
After the
References
- Hansard
- HC Deb vol 159: Ordered 27 Nov 1922 cc294-7; Second Reading 27 Nov 1922 cc327-87; Committee 28 Nov 1922 cc537-67; Third Reading 29 Nov 1922 cc741-74; from Lords 4 Dec 1922 c1210
- HL Deb vol 52: First Reading 29 Nov c105; Second Reading 30 Nov 1922 cc108-72; Committee 1 Dec 1922 cc173-88; Third Reading 4 Dec 1922 cc211-36
- ^ This is the Act's short title as given in Section 5, although the words "(Session 2)" in the title are generally omitted when referring to it.
- ^ "Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) Act 1922". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "CONSTITUTION OF SAORSTAT EIREANN BILL - AS AMENDED ON REPORT". Dáil Éireann debates. 25 October 1922. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ Hansard; third reading debate
- ^ The New York Times, 6 December 1922
- ^ "Constitution Act — Address to His Majesty". Northern Ireland House of Commons debates. Vol. 2. 7 December 1922. cc.1147–50. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Answer to Address". Northern Ireland House of Commons debates. Vol. 2. 13 December 1922. c.1191. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Statute Law Revision Act 2007, Schedule 2, Part 4". Irish Statute Book. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act 1933, Section 2". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "CONSTITUTION OF IRELAND Article 48". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ "Moore v. Attorney General of the Irish Free State [1935] I.R. 472". Courts Service of Ireland. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- BAILII. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Byrne v Ireland [1972] I.R. 241" (PDF). Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- S2CID 145071117.