Oireachtas (Free State)
Oireachtas ( Irish for legislation ) means the legislature or parliament at the time of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937 . It was partly also called Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann , so legislation of the Irish Free State . It consisted of the British King, the House of Commons Dáil Éireann and the House of Lords, also known as the Senate ( Seanad Éireann ).
Like today's Irish Parliament, the legislature at that time was dominated by the powerful, directly elected House of Commons. In contrast to today's parliament, during the Free State period, however, the parliament could change the constitution at will without a referendum and join a war as a whole - even if the latter power was not relevant in practice.
In 1936 the constitution was changed to the effect that the Senate was dissolved and the king lost his legislative role. From this point on, the Free State Parliament consisted only of the lower house. In 1937 the constitution of the Irish Free State was replaced by the constitution of Ireland and the Oireachtas was replaced by the parliament of the same name, which still exists today.
composition
The lower house was elected by direct vote by all citizens who were at least 21 years old, using a single transferable vote . Originally it was intended that the Senate should be elected in the same way, but after the first direct Senate election in 1925 , this system was replaced by an indirect election (through upper and lower houses) by constitutional amendment. Members of both houses had to swear an oath of allegiance to the Free State and the British King before they were allowed to take their seats. This was abolished in 1936 by an amendment to the constitution.
The King of Great Britain was also "King also in Ireland, and was by the governor general represents there. Through a British law passed in 1927 , the title changed the king to" King of Ireland ", which meant that the Irish king became independent of the British King (although he was one and the same person) and the British Government thereby lost its influence in Ireland.
By 1936 the Oireachtas was dissolved by the king on the advice of the Executive Council . By a constitutional amendment this year this power was passed to the Ceann Comhairle (chairman of the lower house) to dissolve.
role
By 1936, new laws had to be approved by both Houses to eventually obtain royal approval (from the Governor General on behalf of the King). In 1936, when the king resigned from the system of government by means of a constitutional amendment, this final approval passed to the Ceann Comhairle .
In the Free State's early years, there were some theoretical possibilities for the governor general to veto a bill. In fact, Timothy Michael Healy was urged by the British government to block all laws abolishing the oath of allegiance. With the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 the British government lost all legal possibilities to influence the King and the Governor General in relation to Free State affairs, so that the risk of a blockade was negligible. In 1933, under the 21st constitutional amendment, the Governor General was even forbidden to veto.
According to the constitution, the Oireachtas had the opportunity to change the constitution independently by means of a simple law. This was the procedure for the first 8 years - after that the right to decide the constitutional amendment should pass to the people (by referendum). But already in 1929, one year before this change, the period of 8 years was extended, so that in the end the Oireachtas had the power to change the constitution almost at will during its entire existence. Until 1936, the Oireachtas was only prohibited from making constitutional amendments that contradict the Anglo-Irish Treaty - a restriction that was lifted by a constitutional amendment in 1936.
Powers
By constitution, the Oireachtas had sole power
- exercise legislative power (including budget approval),
- to set up subordinate legislatures,
- to change the constitution,
- to declare the Free State's entry into war,
- to build and maintain an armed army .
The Oireachtas had the following restrictions:
- Laws that contradicted the constitution were theoretically invalid. In reality, the power to change the constitution essentially nullified that restriction.
- It was not possible to retroactively declare actions illegal if they had not broken a law at the time they were carried out.
- The sphere of influence of the Oireachtas does not include Northern Ireland.