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Revisiting the Legacy of the Amendment Procedure

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The Centenary of the Irish Free State Constitution

Part of the book series: Palgrave Modern Legal History ((PMLH))

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Abstract

The Constitution of the Irish Free State contained a standard provision that it would be amended by referendum requiring thresholds of both turnout and approval, which would have made the text difficult to amend. However, during a provisional period, amendments could be made in the same manner as ordinary legislation, without reference to the people. It was through the latter means that all twenty-five of the amendments to the text were made between 1922 and 1937. Although this proved a weakness in the stability of the text, these circumstances shaped the development of the nascent Irish state. Had the strict thresholds been applied, several of the amendments might not have been enacted or might have been enacted only after a delay. Elements of direct participatory democracy such as the initiative and referendum on legislation would have remained as tools of opponents of government, while the state would have had less freedom to respond swiftly to the changing relationship with the United Kingdom in the 1930s. The Constitution of Ireland in place since 1937 was built on the framework of its predecessor, including what was learned during this transitional period.

William is an investigator for the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information. This chapter is written in a personal capacity and nothing in it is the view or opinion of the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Dáil Debates, Vol. 67 No. 1. 11 May 1937. Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Dara Céim.

  2. 2.

    Donal K. Coffey, “The Need for a New Constitution: Irish Constitutional Change 1932–1935” (2012) 48(2) Irish Jurist, 275–302.

  3. 3.

    See Laura Cahillane, Drafting the Irish Free State Constitution (Manchester University Press, 2016), 47–64.

  4. 4.

    Article 48 – this allowed for potential constitutional amendments and legislative proposals to be initiated by the citizens.

  5. 5.

    Article 47 – this would have allowed for citizens voting in a referendum to veto legislation.

  6. 6.

    Article 50.

  7. 7.

    Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act, 1931 (No. 37), enacted 17 October 1931.

  8. 8.

    [1935] IR 170.

  9. 9.

    Dáil debates, Vol. T No. 6. 19 December 1921. Debate on Treaty.

  10. 10.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 59 No. 17. 12 December 1935. Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Bill, 1934. - Motion Under Article 38A of the Constitution.

  11. 11.

    Laura Cahillane, Drafting the Irish Free State Constitution (Manchester University Press, 2016), 67; Bill to Enact Constitution. Dáil debates - Monday, 18 September 1922. Vol. 1 No. 6.

  12. 12.

    Luís Aguiar-Conraria and Pedro C. Magalhães, “Referendum design, quorum rules and turnout” Public Choice 144, No. 1/2 (July 2010): 67–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9504-1

  13. 13.

    For alternative wording proposed by the Minister for Justice see Dáil debates, Vol. 341 No. 10. 27 April 1983. Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1982: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages.

  14. 14.

    For instance, the Constitution (Amendment No. 12) Act 1930 (No. 5) set the standing orders of the Committee of Privileges between the Houses and the Constitution (Amendment No. 11) Act 1929 (No. 34) extended the franchise for Seanad elections from the Seanad alone to the Dáil and the Seanad.

  15. 15.

    Laura Cahillane, “Popular sovereignty under the 1922 Constitution: theory and reality”, in Constitutional Change and Popular Sovereignty: Populism, Politics and the Law in Ireland, edited by Maria Cahill, Colm Ó Cinnéide, Seán Ó Conaill and Conor O’Mahony (Oxford: Routledge, 2021) 22–37, 29.

  16. 16.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 1 No. 18. 5 October 1922. I gCoiste ar an mBille um Bunreacht Shaorstáit Eireann. (In Committee on the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann Bill.) - Article 49—Amendments of The Constitution.

  17. 17.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 1 No. 24. 19 October 1922. Amendments to Article 50.

  18. 18.

    Constitution of Denmark, Section 20.2.

  19. 19.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 12 No. 9. 16 June 1925. Constitution (Amendment) No. 1 Bill—Second Stage.

  20. 20.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 17 No. 6. 1 December 1926. Constitution (Amendment No. 2) Bill, 1926—Second Stage.

  21. 21.

    Leo Kohn, Constitution of the Irish Free State (1930), 244.

  22. 22.

    Alan J. Ward, The Irish Constitutional Tradition: Responsible Government and Modern Ireland 1782–1992 (CUA Press, 1994), 222.

  23. 23.

    Article 17, 1922 Constitution; Article 4, Anglo-Irish Treaty.

  24. 24.

    Mell Farrell, Party Politics in a New Democracy, 1922–37 (London: Palgrave, 2017), 160–167.

  25. 25.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 18 No. 1. 25 January 1927. Deputy Takes His Seat.

  26. 26.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 19 No. 10. 6 April 1927. Private Business. - Constitution (Amendment No. 6) Bill—First Stage.

  27. 27.

    Farrell, 160–167.

  28. 28.

    “75,000 signatures — Fianna Fáil’s plans — Legal action and a referendum” (30 June 1927), The Irish Times, p. 7.

  29. 29.

    Constitution (Amendment No. 6) Bill 1927 (No. 24).

  30. 30.

    Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1927, s. 4 (No. 26).

  31. 31.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 20 No. 15. 28 July 1927. Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1927—Second Stage.

  32. 32.

    Seanad debates. Vol. 9 No. 9. 10 August 1927. Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1927—Final Stages.

  33. 33.

    Farrell, 174–181.

  34. 34.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 23 No. 13. 16 May 1928. Private Deputies’ Business. - Petition to Amend the Constitution.

  35. 35.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 23 No. 16. 23 May 1928. Private Deputies Business. - Petition Under Article 48 of the Constitution.

  36. 36.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 23 No. 21. 1 June 1928. Private Deputies Business. - Petition Under Article 48 of the Constitution.

  37. 37.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 28 No. 10. 13 March 1929. Constitution (Amendment No. 16) Bill, 1928—Second Stage.

  38. 38.

    Statute of Westminster 1931 (22&23 Geo 5) c. 4, s. 4; Farrell, 244–245.

  39. 39.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 41 No. 3. 20 April 1932. Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill, 1932—First Stage.

  40. 40.

    See David Harkness, “Patrick McGilligan: Man of commonwealth”, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, (1979) 8:1, 117–135.

  41. 41.

    Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill 1932 (No. 2a), as passed by Seanad Éireann.

  42. 42.

    Seanad debates, Vol. 15 No. 18. 28 June 1932. Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill, 1932—Fifth Stage.

  43. 43.

    Mel Farrell, Party Politics in a New Democracy: The Irish Free State, 1922–37 (London: Palgrave, 2017), 257.

  44. 44.

    Seanad debates, Vol. 16 No. 12. 15 March 1933. Public Business. - Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill, 1933—Second Stage.

  45. 45.

    Seanad debates, Vol. 16 No. 12. 15 March 1933. Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill, 1933—Second Stage.

  46. 46.

    Dáil debates. Vol. 47 No. 4. 3 May 1933. Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill, 1932—Motion of Enactment.

  47. 47.

    An amendment which had already been made to reduce the time of the Seanad in considering bills.

  48. 48.

    Seanad debates, Vol. 17 No. 1. 11 July 1933. Constitution (Amendment No. 19) Bill, 1933—Second Stage.

  49. 49.

    For further, see Butler, “The Representative of the Crown and the Governor-General of the Irish Free State: Text and Context” [pp covering section 4].

  50. 50.

    His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6, c. 3).

  51. 51.

    NAI TSCH/3/S2793; NAI TSCH/3/S2794; and NAI TSCH/3/S2795.

  52. 52.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 64 No. 9. 11 December 1936. Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Bill, 1936—Second Stage.

  53. 53.

    Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No. 58), s. 3(2),

  54. 54.

    Bill Kissane, New Beginnings: Constitutionalism and democracy in modern Ireland (University College Dublin Press, 2011), xiv and xvi.

  55. 55.

    Dáil Debates, Vol. 67 No. 1. 11 May 1937. Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Dara Céim.

  56. 56.

    R. (Cooney) v. Clinton [1935] I.R. 245 (1924) and Attorney General v. McBride [1928] I.R. 451.

  57. 57.

    An application in this context was later rejected in Laurentiu v. Minister for Justice [1999] 4 I.R. 26.

  58. 58.

    Plebiscite (Draft Constitution) Act 1937 (No. 16), ss. 1 and 2. Enacted on 2 June 1937, while debate on the Draft Constitution continued in the Dáil.

  59. 59.

    Referendum Results 1937–2019, (2020: Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government), 19.

    It was rejected in five constituencies: Dublin Townships, Cork West, Wicklow, Sligo, and Dublin County.

  60. 60.

    Bláthna Ruane, “Democratic control and constitutional referenda”, Law and Government: A Tribute to Rory Brady (Dublin: Round Hall, 2014), 209.

  61. 61.

    In 1979, two amendments were approved on a turnout of just 28.6%; in 1995, the amendment to allow divorce was approved with 50.3% of the vote.

  62. 62.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 68 No. 3. 10 June 1937. Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Ath-Chúrsa i gCoiste (D’Ath-Thógaint).

  63. 63.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 68 No. 3. 10 June 1937. Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Ath-Chúrsa i gCoiste (D’Ath-Thógaint).

  64. 64.

    Dáil debates, Vol. 448, No. 6. 7 February 1995. Cessation of State of Emergency: Motion.

  65. 65.

    Referendums were not used to approve constitutions at the time.

References

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  1. Dublin, Ireland

    William Quill

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Laura Cahillane

  2. Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland

    Donal K. Coffey

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Quill, W. (2024). Revisiting the Legacy of the Amendment Procedure. In: Cahillane, L., K. Coffey, D. (eds) The Centenary of the Irish Free State Constitution. Palgrave Modern Legal History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46181-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46181-1_13

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