Editing Constitution of Ireland (section)

==Main provisions==

The official text of the Constitution consists of a Preamble, numbered Articles arranged under headings, and a final [[Dedication (publishing)|dedication]] ({{langx|ga|Dochum glóire Dé agus onóra na hÉireann}} "For the glory of God and the Honour of Ireland", from the [[Annals of the Four Masters]]<ref name="cearuil1999">{{cite book |first1=Micheál |last1=Ó Cearúil |first2=Máirtín |last2=Ó Murchú |title=Bunreacht na hÉireann: a study of the Irish text |year=1999 |publisher=Stationery Office |location=Dublin |isbn=0707664004 |pages=688–689 |url=https://www.constitution.ie/Documents/Bunreacht%20na%20hEireann%20-%20Study%20of%20the%20Irish%20Text.pdf |accessdate=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055829/https://www.constitution.ie/Documents/Bunreacht%20na%20hEireann%20-%20Study%20of%20the%20Irish%20Text.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>). Its overall length is approximately 16,000 words.

{|class="wikitable"
|+Articles of the Constitution of Ireland
|-
! Heading !! {{tooltip|Arts|Article numbers}} !! Notes
|-
| The Nation || 1–3
|-
| The State || 4–11 ||
|-
| The [[President of Ireland|President]] || 12–14 ||
|-
| The [[Oireachtas|National Parliament]] || 15–27 ||
|-
| The [[Government of Ireland|Government]] || 28 ||
|-
| [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|Local Government]] || 28A || Inserted [[Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|in 1999]]
|-
| [[Foreign relations of the Republic of Ireland|International Relations]] || 29 ||
|-
| The [[Attorney General of Ireland|Attorney General]] || 30 ||
|-
| The [[Council of State (Ireland)|Council of State]] || 31–32 ||
|-
| The [[Comptroller and Auditor General (Ireland)|Comptroller and Auditor General]] || 33 ||
|-
| The [[Courts of the Republic of Ireland|Courts]] || 34–37 ||
|-
| [[Irish criminal law|Trial of Offences]] || 38–39 ||
|-
| [[Human rights in Ireland|Fundamental Rights]] || 40–44 || Article 42A was inserted [[Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|in 2012]]
|-
| [[#Directive Principles of Social Policy|Directive Principles of Social Policy]] || 45 || Not [[justiciable]]
|-
| [[Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|Amendment of the Constitution]] || 46 ||
|-
| The [[Referendums in the Republic of Ireland|Referendum]] || 47 ||
|-
| Repeal of [[Constitution of the Irish Free State|Constitution of Saorstát Éireann]] and [[Reception statute#Republic of Ireland|Continuance of Laws]] || 48–50 ||
|-
| [[#Transitory provisions|Transitory Provisions]] || 51–64 || Omitted from officially published texts. Article 64 was added [[Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|in 2013]]
|}

===Preamble (full text)===
:''In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred'',
:''We, the people of Éire'',
:''Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial'',
:''Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation'',
:''And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations'',
:''Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution''.

===Characteristics of the nation and state===

*'''National sovereignty''': The constitution asserts the "inalienable, indefeasible, and sovereign right" of the Irish people to [[self-determination]] (Article 1). The state is declared to be "sovereign, independent, [and] democratic" (Article 5).
*'''Popular sovereignty''': It is stated that all powers of government "derive, under God, from the people" (Article 6.1). However, it is also stated that those powers "are exercisable only by or on the authority of the organs of State" established by the Constitution (Article 6.2).
*'''[[Names of the Irish state|Name of the state]]''': The Constitution declares that "[the] name of the State is ''[[Éire]]'', or, in the English language, ''Ireland''" (Article 4). Under [[The Republic of Ireland Act 1948]] the term "Republic of Ireland" is the official "description" of the state; the Oireachtas, however, has left unaltered "Ireland" as the formal name of the state as defined by the Constitution.
*'''[[United Ireland]]''': [[Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland|Article 2]], as substituted after the [[Good Friday Agreement]], asserts that "every person born in the island of Ireland" has the right "to be part of the Irish Nation"; however, Article 9.2 now limits this to persons having at least one parent as an Irish citizen. Article 3 declares that it is the "firm will of the Irish Nation" to bring about a united Ireland, provided that this occurs "only by peaceful means", and only with the express consent of the majority of the people in both jurisdictions of Ireland.
*'''National flag''': The [[Flag of Ireland|national flag]] is defined as "the tricolour of green, white and orange" (Article 7).
*'''Capital city''': The Houses of the [[Oireachtas]] (parliament) must usually meet in or near Dublin (Article 15.1.3°) ("or in such other place as they may from time to time determine"), and the President's official residence must be in or near the city (Article 12.11.1°).

===Languages===
{{main|Status of the Irish language#Constitution}}

Article 8 of the Constitution states:
{{blockquote|
# The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.
# The English language is recognised as a second official language.
# 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.}}

Interpretation of these provisions has been contentious. The Constitution itself is enrolled in both languages, and in case of conflict the Irish language version takes precedence, even though in practice the Irish text is a translation of the English rather than ''vice versa''. The 1937 Constitution introduced some Irish-language terms into English, such as ''Taoiseach'' and ''Tánaiste'', while others, such as ''Oireachtas'', had been used in the Free State Constitution. The use in English of ''[[Éire]]'', the Irish-language name of the state, [[Names of the Irish state|is deprecated]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

===Organs of government===
{{Main|Politics of the Republic of Ireland}}
The Constitution establishes a government under a [[parliamentary system]]. It provides for a directly elected, largely ceremonial [[President of Ireland]] (Article 12), a head of government called the [[Taoiseach]] (Article 28), and a national parliament called the [[Oireachtas]] (Article 15). The Oireachtas has a dominant directly elected lower house known as [[Dáil Éireann]] (Article 16) and an upper house [[Seanad Éireann]] (Article 18), which is partly appointed, partly indirectly elected and partly elected by a limited electorate. There is also an independent [[judiciary]] headed by the [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] (Article 34).

===National emergency===
Under Article 28.3.3° the Constitution grants the state sweeping powers "in time of war or armed rebellion", which may (if so resolved by both Houses of the Oireachtas) include an armed conflict in which the state is not a direct participant. During a national emergency the Oireachtas may pass laws that would otherwise be unconstitutional, and the actions of the [[Government of Ireland|executive]] cannot be found to be ''[[ultra vires]]'' or unconstitutional provided they at least "purport" to be in pursuance of such a law. However, the constitutional prohibition on the death penalty (Article 15.5.2°), introduced by an amendment made in 2001, is an absolute exception to these powers.

There have been two national emergencies since 1937: an [[The Emergency (Ireland)|emergency declared in 1939]] to cover the threat to national security posed as a consequence of World War II (although the state remained formally neutral throughout that conflict), and an emergency declared in 1976 to deal with the threat to the security of the state posed by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]].

===International relations===

*'''European Union''': Under Article 29.4.6° [[European Union law|EU law]] takes precedence over the Constitution if there is a conflict between the two, but only to the extent that such EU law is "necessitated" by Ireland's membership. The Supreme Court has ruled that any EU Treaty that substantially alters the character of the Union must be approved by a constitutional amendment. For this reason separate provisions of Article 29 have permitted the state to ratify the [[Single European Act]], [[Maastricht Treaty]], [[Amsterdam Treaty]], [[Nice Treaty]] and [[Treaty of Lisbon]].
*'''International law''': Under Article 29.6 international treaties to which the state is a party are not to be considered part of Ireland's domestic law unless the Oireachtas has so provided. Under Article 29.3 it is declared that the state "accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States", but the High Court has ruled that this provision is merely aspirational, and not enforceable.

===Individual rights===

====As enumerated under the heading "Fundamental Rights"====

*'''Equality before the law''': Equality of all citizens before the law is guaranteed by Article 40.1.
*'''Prohibition on titles of nobility''': The state may not confer titles of nobility, and no citizen may accept such a title without the permission of the Government (Article 40.2). In practice, governmental approval is usually a formality.
*'''Personal rights''': The state is bound to protect "the personal rights of the citizen", and in particular to defend "the life, person, good name, and property rights of every citizen" (Article 40.3).
*'''Unenumerated rights''': The language used in Article 40.3.1° has been interpreted by the courts as implying the existence of unenumerated rights afforded to Irish citizens under natural law. Such rights upheld by the courts have included the right to marital privacy and the right of the unmarried mother to custody of her child.
*'''Abortion''' '''law''': Pregnancy termination may be regulated by law (Article 40.3.3°). (Abortion had been prohibited by the previous Article 40.3.3°, which the Irish public repealed and replaced [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|in a 2018 referendum]].)
*'''''Habeas corpus''''': The citizen's right to personal liberty is guaranteed by Article 40.4, which section also sets out in detail the procedure for obtaining ''[[habeas corpus]]''. However, these rights are specifically excepted from applying to the actions of the [[Irish Defence Forces|Defence Forces]] during a "state of war or armed rebellion" (Article 40.4.5°). Since the [[Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Sixteenth Amendment]] it has also been constitutional for a court to deny bail to someone charged with a crime where "it is reasonably considered necessary", to prevent that person from committing a "serious offence" (Article 40.4.6°).
*'''Inviolability of the home''': A citizen's home may not be forcibly entered, except as permitted by law (Article 40.5).
*'''Freedom of speech''': Subject to "public order and morality", a qualified right of freedom of speech is guaranteed by Article 40.6.1°. However, "the State shall endeavour to ensure that organs of public opinion" (such as the news media) "shall not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the State". Furthermore, "the publication or utterance of seditious or indecent matter" is specifically stated to be a criminal offence. This also prohibited blasphemy until it was [[Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|removed by referendum in 2018]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/ireland-votes-as-one-to-remove-blasphemy-from-constitution-1.3678935|title=Ireland votes as one to remove blasphemy from Constitution|date=28 October 2018|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=20 November 2019|archive-date=14 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814193457/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/ireland-votes-as-one-to-remove-blasphemy-from-constitution-1.3678935|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Corway v. Independent Newspapers'' (1999), the Supreme Court dismissed an attempt to bring a prosecution for blasphemy on the basis that, amongst other things, no coherent definition of the offence was provided by law. Such a definition was subsequently provided by the [[Blasphemy law in the Republic of Ireland#Defamation Act 2009|Defamation Act 2009]], which defined it as the publication of matter "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby [intentionally] causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion". There was never a prosecution under this Act.
*'''Freedom of peaceful assembly''': Subject to "public order and morality", the right of citizens to peaceful assembly "without arms" is guaranteed by Article 40.6.1°. However, the Oireachtas is empowered to limit this right by law when a meeting may be "calculated to cause a breach of the peace or to be a danger or nuisance to the general public"; the Oireachtas is similarly empowered to limit this right in relation to meetings held "in the vicinity" of either House.
*'''Freedom of association''': Subject to "public order and morality", the right of citizens "to form associations and unions" is also guaranteed by Article 40.6.1°; however, the exercise of this right may be regulated by law "in the public interest".
*'''Family and home life''': Under Article 41.1 the state promises to "protect the Family", and recognises the family as having "inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law". Under Article 41.2 the state is required to ensure that "economic necessity" does not oblige a mother "to engage in labour to the neglect of [her] duties in the home". Article 41.3 sets out conditions that must be fulfilled before a court may grant a divorce, including that adequate financial provision has been made for both spouses and any of their children.
*'''Education''': Article 42 guarantees parents the right to determine where their children shall be educated (including at home), provided a minimum standard is met. Under the same article the state must provide for free [[primary school|primary level education]]. Currently Irish law also guarantees free [[secondary school|second]] and [[tertiary education|third level]] education.
*'''Private property''': The right to own and transfer private property is guaranteed by Article 43, subject to "the principles of social justice", and in accordance with laws passed reconciling the right "with the exigencies of the common good" (Article 43).
*'''Religious freedom''': A citizen's freedom of religious conscience, practice, and worship is guaranteed, "subject to public order and morality", by Article 44.2.1°. The state may not "endow" any religion (Article 44.2.2°), nor discriminate on religious grounds (Article 44.2.3°).

====As enumerated under other headings====
*'''Prohibition of the death penalty''': Since the enactment of the [[Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|twenty-first amendment]], signed into law in 2002, the Oireachtas is prohibited from enacting any law that imposes the death penalty (Article 15.5.2°); this restriction even applies during a time of war or armed rebellion (Article 28.3.3°).
*'''Prohibition of {{lang|la|ex post facto}} laws''': The Oireachtas may not enact {{lang|la|[[ex post facto law|ex post facto]]}} criminal laws (Article 15.5.1°).
*'''Due process and trial by jury''': Trial for any alleged criminal offence may only be "in due course of law" (Article 38.1).  All trials for a serious offence of a person not subject to military law must be before a jury (Article 38.5), except where "special courts" have been established by law because "the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice, and the preservation of public peace and order", and except where military tribunals have been established by law "to deal with a state of war or armed rebellion".
*'''Sexual discrimination''': The sex of an individual cannot be a reason to deny them the right to citizenship (Article 9.1.3°), nor to deny them a vote for (or membership of) Dáil Éireann (Article 16.1).

===Directive Principles of Social Policy===
Article 45 outlines broad principles of social and economic policy. Its provisions are, however, intended solely "for the general guidance of the Oireachtas", and "shall not be cognisable by any Court under any of the provisions of this Constitution" (preamble to Article 45).

The "Directive Principles of Social Policy" feature little in contemporary parliamentary debates. However, no proposals have yet been made for their repeal or amendment.

The principles require, in summary, that:
*"justice and charity" must "inform all the institutions of the national life".
*Everyone has the right to an adequate occupation.
*The free market and private property must be regulated in the interests of the common good.
*The state must prevent a destructive concentration of essential commodities in the hands of a few.
*The state must supplement private industry where necessary.
*The state should ensure efficiency in private industry and protect the public against economic exploitation.
*The state must protect the vulnerable, such as orphans and the aged.
*No one may be forced into an occupation unsuited to their age, sex or strength.

The "Directive Principles" have influenced other constitutions. Notably, the famous "Indian Directive Principles of State Policy" contained in the [[Constitution of India]] are influenced by the Constitution of Ireland.<ref>Human Rights in Ireland publication, ''The Irish Influence on the Indian Constitution: 60 Years On'' which notes that Indian jurist Jai Narain Pandey described them as "borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland".</ref> Moreover, the previous [[Constitution of Nepal]] adopted in 1962 and in force for 28 years and commonly called ''Panchayat Constitution'' contained a verbatim translation of the "Directive Principles" of the Irish constitution.<ref>Hrishikesh Shah, ''PRARABDHA RA PURUSHARTHA: AATMAKATHA''; at note no. 22 at pp. 144–5 (2014); Hrishikesh Shah was the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee of the Constitution of Nepal, 1962</ref><ref>''Adoption of Foreign Values NepalL: A Study''; Madhav Kumar Basnet</ref>

===Transitory provisions===
{{anchor|Transitory}}<!-- [[Transitory provisions of the Constitution of Ireland]] redirects here-->The transitory provisions of the constitution provided for a smooth takeover from the pre-existing institutions of the Free State to those established by the new constitution. Institutions would initially be assigned to their Free State analogues where available; this applied to the Dáil,<ref>Constitution Article 54</ref> courts,<ref>Constitution Article 58</ref> government,<ref>Constitution Article 56.1–2</ref> public service,<ref>Constitution Article 56.3–5</ref> Attorney General,<ref>Constitution Article 59</ref> Comptroller and Auditor General,<ref>Constitution Article 60</ref> Defence Forces<ref>Constitution Article 61</ref> and police.<ref>Constitution Article 61.1</ref> For constitutional innovations — the President<ref>Constitution Articles 52.1, 55.3, 57</ref> and Seanad<ref>Constitution Article 53, 55.1, 57.2</ref> — provision was made for their establishment within 180 days, and for the Oireachtas and Presidential Commission to function without them in the interim notwithstanding that they were otherwise essential.

Judges were required to swear allegiance to the new Constitution to continue in office, but other continuing public servants were not.  Article 51 allowed constitutional amendments without referendum during the three years after the first President took office ([[Douglas Hyde]] did so [[1938 Irish presidential election|on 25 June 1938]]). This was to facilitate the Oireachtas fixing any defects or oversights that quickly became obvious. The President could still [[ordinary referendum|demand a referendum]] in some cases, but the [[First Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|First]] (1939) and [[Second Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Second]] (1941) amendments were enacted under Article 51 without referendum.

The transitory provisions are mostly still [[coming into force|in force]] but [[spent law|spent]]. They themselves mandate that they be omitted from all officially published texts of the Constitution: either as soon Hyde took office, or three years later in the case of Article 51.<ref>Constitution Article 51.4, 52</ref> Article 51 expressly provides that it would cease to have legal effect once it was removed, but the rest remain in force, which has created subsequent inconvenience. The Second Amendment made changes to Article 56 despite the fact that it was no longer a part of the official text. The transitional continuation of the pre-1937 courts was not formally ended until the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961, whose [[long title]] refers to "Article 58 of the Constitution".<ref>{{cite web |title=Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act, 1961 |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1961/act/38/enacted/en/print.html |website=electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) |publisher=Office of the Attorney General of Ireland |access-date=5 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref> A journalist commented in 1958 that the courts' status was determined by "a non-existent provision of the Constitution".<ref>''National observer; a monthly journal of current affairs''; quoted in {{cite news |title=Courts' status never properly defined — says Journal |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1958/1110/Pg009.html#Ar00903 |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 February 2024 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=10 November 1958 |page=9}}</ref>

Further transitory provisions have been added by subsequent constitutional amendments, and similarly omitted from officially published texts. The [[Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Nineteenth]] (1998) added subsections 3°, 4° and 5° to Article 29.7 to facilitate the 1999 changes to [[Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland|Articles 2 and 3]]; articles 34A and 64 were added by the [[Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Thirty-third]] (2013) to initialise the new [[Court of Appeal (Ireland)|Court of Appeal]]. The [[Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2013|rejected 2013 proposal]] to abolish the Seanad included both the deletion of previous Seanad-related transitory provisions and the addition of two new abolition-related ones. The associated [[Referendum Commission]] published the full transitory provisions for the information of voters, with a disclaimer that this did not constitute an "official" text.

===Amendments===
{{Main|Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|List of failed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland#Missing numbers}}

Any part of the Constitution may be amended, but only by referendum.

The procedure for amendment of the Constitution is set out in Article 46. An amendment must first be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, then be submitted to a referendum, and then finally must be signed into law by the President.

Amendments are sometimes proposed to address a new social problem or phenomenon not considered at the time of the Constitution being drafted (e.g. children's rights, same-sex marriage), to address outmoded provisions in the Constitution (e.g. special position of the Roman Catholic Church, prohibition on abortion), or to attempt to reverse or alter an interpretation of the court through a corrective referendum (e.g. Oireachtas enquiries). Usually referendums are only proposed when there is wide political support for the proposed change.<ref>Fiona de Londras & David Gwynn Morgan (2012) "Constitutional Amendment in Ireland" In: Xenophon Contiades (eds).  Engineering Constitutional Change: A Comparative Perspective on Europe, Canada and the USA (2012)</ref>

====Enrollment of the Constitution====
Article 25.5 provides that from time to time, the Taoiseach may cause an up to date text of the Constitution to be prepared in Irish and in English, embodying all of the amendments made so far (and retaining the transitory provisions). Once this new text has been signed by the Taoiseach, the Chief Justice and the President, it is enrolled on [[vellum]] and deposited with the office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court. Once enrolled, the new text becomes [[incontrovertible evidence|conclusive evidence]] of the Constitution, and supersedes earlier enrolled copies. The Constitution has been enrolled six times: in 1938, 1942, 1980, 1990, 1999, and 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-signs-text-of-bunreacht-na-heireann-in-accordance-with-article-25-of-the-constitution |url-status=live |title=President signs text of Bunreacht na hÉireann in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520215720/https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-signs-text-of-bunreacht-na-heireann-in-accordance-with-article-25-of-the-constitution |archive-date=20 May 2020 |date=4 November 2019 |publisher=Office of the President |location=Dublin }}</ref>