Constitutional amendment (Ireland)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The constitution of the Republic of Ireland can be changed at any time by a constitutional amendment (referendum) . An amendment must be approved by both Houses of Parliament; after a successful referendum, the change comes into effect with the signature of the Irish President .

Apart from the constitutional referendum, the constitution also permits a referendum on simple laws in exceptional cases, none of which has taken place so far.

procedure

referendum

The procedure for a constitutional amendment is laid down in Article 46 and must be introduced by the House of Commons Dáil Éireann in the form of a normal law, which, however, may not contain any further legislative changes. According to the Dáil, the change must also be approved by the Seanad Éireann , but this is a purely formal matter due to the fact that the Senate cannot reject any law. The change is then decided by referendum, which is carried out by secret ballot. In contrast to the general election, where UK citizens are also allowed to vote if they are resident in Ireland, only Irish citizens are allowed to vote in this type of referendum. A simple majority is enough to pass a referendum.

When the people have approved the change, the President must sign the change to make it law; he has no right of veto.

Historical methods

Historically, there have been two other ways to change the Irish constitution. The transitional rules that a part of the new constitution of 1937 had seen before, that for a period of 4 years ( 1937 - 1941 ), the constitution can be changed by a simple decision of the Parliament. However, in order to rule out a complete amendment to the constitution, the Irish President had the opportunity to reject such an amendment during this period if he was of the opinion that it would transform the entire constitution.

The first and second constitutional amendments were made in this way. The then president, Douglas Hyde , signed the two constitutional amendments directly, without an explicit referendum. This power, a constitutional amendment without a referendum, was foreseen for a period of three years after the first president took office.

Since 1941, i.e. 3 years after Hyde took office, a constitutional amendment has to go through the following steps: Approved draft law by parliament, referendum, signature by the president.

Former constitutions

Before the 1937 Constitution, there were two other constitutions: the Constitution of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937 and the (officially unrecognized) Dáil Constitution of the Irish Republic from 1919 to 1922 .

The Dáil Constitution was created by the Dáil Éireann (as a unicameral system) by a simple parliamentary act and could therefore also be amended by means of a normal law.

The Free State Constitution originally provided for an amendment process by means of a referendum. The constitution could, however, be changed by parliament at will for the first 8 years without a referendum. Therefore, shortly before the end of these 8 years, the parliament decided to extend this period by means of a constitutional amendment, which meant that the constitution could be changed by parliament alone during the entire Free State period.

Overview

There are officially no 12th, 22nd, 24th and 25th constitutional amendments. The official name of a constitutional amendment (which contains the sequential number in the original) cannot be changed once the law has been approved by parliament. If there are several constitutional amendments to be voted on on an election day (e.g. the 12th, 13th and 14th in 1992 ) and one or more of them with lower numbers is not accepted (like the 12th here), the others keep still their assigned number. In the event that all changes on one day were rejected or only the change with the highest number was rejected, the corresponding number was reassigned (as happened, for example, in the elections in 1959 and 1968); this is no longer practiced. Even in the event that several constitutional amendments are introduced into parliament and not all of them are adopted in the lower house (e.g. the 22nd), there may be "gaps" in the numbering.

Date of the
referendum 		# Main theme Eligible voters voter turnout Therefore On the other hand
July 1, 1937 Introduction of the Constitution 1,775,055 75.8% 56.5% 43.5%
September 2, 1939 1. Emergency powers
May 30, 1941 2. various
17th July 1959 (3.) Electoral system 1,678,450 58.4% 48.2% 51.8%
October 16, 1968 (3.) Constitutional Limits 1,717,389 65.8% 39.2% 60.8%
(4.) Electoral system 39.2% 60.8%
May 10, 1972 3. European Union 1,783,604 70.9% 83.1% 16.9%
7th December 1972 4th Minimum voting age 1,783,604 50.7% 84.6% 15.4%
5. Recognition v. Religions 84.4% 15.6%
5th July 1979 6th Adoptions 2,179,466 28.6% 99.0% 1.0%
7th Senate reform 92.4% 7.6%
September 7, 1983 8th. adoption 2,358,651 53.7% 66.9% 33.1%
June 14, 1984 9. Electoral system 2,399,257 47.5% 75.4% 24.6%
June 26, 1986 (10.) divorce 2,436,836 60.8% 36.5% 63.5%
May 26, 1987 10. Single European Act 2,461,790 44.1% 69.9% 30.1%
June 18, 1992 11. Maastricht Treaty 2,542,840 57.3% 69.1% 30.9%
November 25, 1992 12. abortion 2,542,841 68.2% 34.6% 65.4%
" 13. Freedom of travel for abortion " " 62.4% 37.6%
14th Abortion Education 59.9% 40.1%
November 24, 1995 15th divorce 2,628,834 62.2% 50.3% 49.7%
November 28, 1996 16. deposit 2,659,895 29.2% 74.8% 25.2%
October 30, 1997 17th Protection of the Cabinet 2,688,316 47.2% 52.6% 47.4%
May 22, 1998 18th Amsterdam Treaty 2,747,088 56.2% 61.7% 38.3%
19th Good Friday Agreement 94.4% 5.6%
June 11, 1999 20th elections 2,791,415 51.5% 77.8% 22.2%
June 7, 2001 21st death penalty 2,867,960 34.8% 62.1% 37.9%
" 22nd System of judges (not approved by parliament)
" 23. International Criminal Court 2,867,960 34.8% 64.2% 35.8%
" 24. Treaty of Nice " " 46.1% 53.9%
March 6, 2002 25th abortion 2,923,918 42.9% 49.6% 50.4%
October 19, 2002 26th Treaty of Nice 2,923,918 49.5% 62.9% 37.1%
June 11, 2004 27. citizenship 3,041,688 59.9% 79.2% 20.8%
June 12, 2008 (28.) Lisbon Treaty 3,051,278 53.1% 46.6% 53.4%
October 2, 2009 28. Lisbon Treaty 3,078,032 58.0 67.1% 32.9%
October 27, 2011 29 Remuneration of judges 3,191,157 55.9% 79.7% 20.3%
October 27, 2011 (30.) Parliamentary inquiries 3,191,157 55.9% 46.7% 53.3%
May 31, 2012 30th European Fiscal Compact 3,144,828 50.6% 60.3% 39.7%
November 10, 2012 31. Children's rights 3,183,686 33.5% 58.0% 42.0%
4th October 2013 32. Abolition of the House of Lords 3,167,484 39.2% 48.3% 51.7%
4th October 2013 33. New court of appeal 3,167,484 39.2% 48.3% 51.7%
May 22, 2015 34. Same-sex marriage 3,221,681 60.5% 65.2% 34.8%
May 22, 2015 35. Suffrage presidency 3,221,681 60.5% 62.1% 37.9%
May 25, 2018 36. abortion 3,367,556 64% 66.4% 33.6%

Details of the constitutional changes made

1. Amendment to the Constitution (1939)

The first constitutional amendment came into force on September 2, 1939. The content was the modification of the term "state of war" by taking into account also in times of war in which the country is not directly involved. The background was the ability of the government to exercise powers in times of emergency even if the country remains neutral (which happened in World War II ). Today, therefore, the government can exercise these powers when parliament declares a "national emergency".

This change was introduced by the ruling party Fianna Fáil under Eamon de Valera . Since the transitional regulations still applied in 1939, this change (like the second) could be implemented without a referendum.

2nd amendment to the constitution (1941)

The 2nd constitutional amendment contained a large number of changes and came into force on May 30, 1941. This change was also introduced by Fianna Fáil and could be implemented without a referendum.

The following changes were made to the constitution:

  • Article 26 allows the President of Ireland to refer legislative proposals to the Supreme Court for constitutional review . The addition was added that the decision of the Supreme Court must be made unanimously. Furthermore, Article 34 has been amended to the effect that legislative proposals that the Supreme Court has found to be constitutional may never be re-examined for constitutionality.
  • Prior to the amendment to Article 40, an imprisoned person could go to any High Court judge (and as many as desired) for a writ. The amendment allows only a judge to do so, and once the indictment is drafted it is up to the President of the High Court to designate the judge (s) who will handle the case. The constitutional amendment also added that in the event that an arrest under a law contrary to the constitution has come about, the High Court must refer the case to the Supreme Court and the detainee can be released on bail. The third amendment to the Habeas Corpus Section concerned the ability of the high court to now postpone the death penalty.
  • Article 28 was amended so that a "state of war" can only be lifted by a resolution by both houses of parliament.
  • The Irish text of the Constitution has been adapted and previous changes that were only in the English text have been incorporated. As the Irish constitutional text is authoritative, this step was already overdue.
  • Article 12.3.3 (President can no longer exercise his office) has been expanded to include the provision that a new election (also in the event that the President has not yet taken office) must be held within 60 days. Furthermore, it was formulated more precisely that the Presidential Commission can take over all tasks of the President.
  • Article 18 was also amended, specifying Senate nomination by the Taoiseach . The procedure for reducing the time in which the Senate has to approve a law has been clarified in Article 24.2.
  • Furthermore, minor changes were introduced in the areas of the Senate election, the legislative process and other articles, which mainly specified the existing text more precisely.
  • The process of legislation regarding the signing and entry into force of laws has been slightly changed in Article 25.
  • The referendums on legislative proposals (one of the President's discretionary decisions) saw slight changes.
  • Article 34 has been amended to allow judicial proceedings in special cases to take place in camera.
  • Transitional provisions in Article 56 for government officials employed prior to the entry into force of the Constitution.

(planned) 3rd constitutional amendment (1958)

The planned constitutional amendment of June 17, 1958 - the first to be decided by referendum - was intended to change the electoral system for the lower house from a single transferable vote to a first past the post system. Furthermore, an independent commission should be set up to determine the electoral districts according to constitutional principles. The people rejected this constitutional amendment.

(planned) 3rd constitutional amendment (1968)

The constitutional amendment of October 16, 1968 affected electoral districts and would have allowed rural districts to elect a disproportionate number of parliamentarians. The constitutional amendment, like the 4th, which took place on the same day, was rejected.

(planned) 4th constitutional amendment (1968)

On the same day there was also a vote on a new attempt to change the electoral system (as with the failed change in 1959), but this time the change was rejected again.

3rd constitutional amendment (1972)

The 3rd constitutional amendment of 1972 - the first to be approved by referendum - dealt with the accession of the Republic of Ireland to the EU and came into force on June 8, 1972. It was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government under Jack Lynch , but supported by Fine Gael and other parties and interest groups. Only the Labor Party and the trade unions did not support this project.

Membership in the EU gave the European institutions powers that the Constitution had only granted to the Irish Parliament and the government. It was also possible that parts of the constitution did not comply with European law. Therefore this 3rd constitutional amendment created the possibility of accession and declared - almost as a general power of attorney - the European laws as overriding the Irish constitution.

4th constitutional amendment (1973)

The 4th constitutional amendment changed the minimum age of voters from 21 to 18 years and came into force on January 5, 1973. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government under Jack Lynch and supported by all major parties.

Article 16 was amended, which deals with the elections to the Irish House of Commons Dáil Éireann . Other articles of the constitution (e.g. on the election of the president) derive their minimum voting age from this article ("[...] everyone who can participate in elections to the lower house [...]") and therefore did not have to be adjusted. However, the constitutional amendment did not change the minimum age that a candidate must have for a seat in the House of Commons; this stayed at 21.

5th constitutional amendment (1973)

The 5th constitutional amendment mainly removed the controversial "special position" of the Roman Catholic Church from the constitution, recognized some other religions and came into force on January 5, 1973. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government under Jack Lynch and supported by all major parties. The Catholic Church officially did not object to this change, although there were some critical voices from among the conservative Catholics.

In drafting the Constitution of 1936 and 1937 , Eamon de Valera adopted the view customary at the time of explicitly mentioning and recognizing religion, although this was in contrast to the Free State Constitution of 1922 , which avoided regulating religious matters. De Valera and his advisors (including the priest John Charles McQuaid ) faced the following problems during the drafting:

  • The demands of conservative Catholics, such as the Maria Duce organization , for clear recognition of what they consider to be the "true faith" as the state religion,
  • Fears of other religious communities about a dominating role of the Roman Catholic Church and about discrimination,
  • The anti-Semitism prevailing in Europe at the time ,
  • The fact that the educational system and, to some extent, the health system were intertwined with different religions.

De Valera's solution was Article 44, which was seen as the defeat of fundamentalist Catholics:

  • The Roman Catholic Church was not declared a state church, but received an undefined "special status" as the "Church of the majority",
  • Other religions (including the Jewish religion) were recognized by name.

In 1973 the time had come to remove this obsolete article and thus prevent possible approaches to discrimination. Until then, the article was considered another stumbling block in relations with Northern Ireland and its predominantly Protestant population.

6. Constitutional amendment (1979)

The 6th constitutional amendment specified that special adoptions that were not decided by a court do not necessarily contravene the constitution. This change came into effect on August 3, 1979 and affected Article 37. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government and supported by all major parties. The constitutional amendment had the highest approval rate so far, with 99%.

This change became necessary because it was established in 1977 that adoptions that were determined by the official adoption office on board Uchtála , and not by a judge or court, actually did not comply with the constitution.

7. Amendment to the Constitution (1979)

The 7th constitutional amendment specified that the requirement to have 6 senate members elected by academics could be changed by law. This change took effect on August 3, 1979. The amendment was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government and its vote took place at the same time as the 6th constitutional amendment.

Prior to this change, the constitution stipulated that three Senate members should be elected from the National University of Ireland and three from Trinity College . It was changed that now 6 senate members from any universities (which can be determined and changed by law by parliament) are appointed. But to this day, three senators are still elected from each of the two universities mentioned - there was no change by law, although it was discussed in the period following the constitutional amendment.

8. Amendment to the Constitution (1983)

The 8th constitutional amendment introduced the controversial abortion paragraph into the constitution, which puts the protection of a woman's life on an equal footing with that of the unborn child, and came into force on October 7, 1983. This constitutional amendment is often called the "Irish pro-life" amendment ( Irish Pro-Life called), but not legalized abortion in Ireland.

Abortion was illegal in Ireland as early as 1983 and the 8th constitutional amendment was intended to prevent legalization in the future, as anti-abortionists feared that the Supreme Court might see a right to abortion in the then current version of the constitution. The change was driven by the anti-abortion Pro-Life Amendment Campaign, and before the 1981 general election, the largest parties except the Labor Party were on their side. But it wasn't until late 1982, shortly before the collapse of Charles Haughey's minority government, that a first textual proposal was made. Garret FitzGerald , the opposition leader of Fine Gael , received a hint from his Justice Minister Peter Sutherland that the text in this form was dangerous and thereupon drafted a narrower text proposal. Although FitzGerald's version was closer to the originally requested version of the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign , a majority in the Dáil Éireann voted against it, so that the original text proposal was ultimately used.

Opponents of this constitutional amendment argued in 1983 that the text was kept very vague. Since its introduction in 1983 there have been four attempts to specify the wording: two rejected amendments (1992 and 2002) to tighten the text (no license for an abortion if the mother threatens suicide if the abortion is not approved) and two accepted amendments ( both 1992), both of which extended mother's rights to abortion.

9. Amendment to the Constitution (1984)

The 9th constitutional amendment extended the right to vote in the lower house to certain non-Irish citizens and came into effect on August 2, 1984. The change was introduced by the Fine Gael government under Garret FitzGerald , but was also supported by the opposition party Fianna Fáil .

The possibility for elections to the House of Dáil Éireann to choose was also through this constitutional amendment to citizens of the United Kingdom expanded, having their permanent residence in Ireland. This was the counterpart to the Ireland Act in Great Britain of 1949, under which Irish citizens can also vote in general elections in Great Britain if they are permanently resident there. The Irish Constitution has been changed so that Parliament can also admit other groups of the population by law , but this has not yet happened. The change did not affect the presidential elections.

(planned) 10th constitutional amendment (1986)

The constitutional amendment of June 26, 1986 concerned the legalization of divorce. The constitutional amendment was rejected in 1986, but 10 years later it was approved on a new vote.

10. Amendment to the Constitution (1987)

The 10th constitutional amendment allowed the state to ratify the Single European Act and came into force on June 22, 1987. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government under Charles J. Haughey , and supported by Fine Gael , the Progressive Democrats, and workers 'and farmers' unions.

The 10th constitutional amendment is the first of a series that allowed the Irish Republic to ratify treaties of the EU , which previously, from the point of view of the Supreme Court, was partially not given.

11. Amendment to the Constitution (1992)

The 11th constitutional amendment allowed the state to ratify the Maastricht Treaty and came into force on July 16, 1992. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition and only not supported by the Democratic Left party.

Like the 10th constitutional amendment, this also served to recognize EU treaties , in this case the Maastricht Treaty.

(planned) 12th constitutional amendment (1992)

The constitutional amendment of November 25, 1992 was intended to tighten the guidelines for abortion, in that the threatened suicide of an expectant mother is not a reason for a (legal) abortion. In contrast to the two simultaneous votes (13th and 14th constitutional amendments) on other abortion issues on this day, this change was rejected.

The background to this series of three abortion constitutional amendments was the case of a 14-year-old girl before the Supreme Court in 1992. The case went as the "X-case" ( X-Case ) in Irish history; the girl's name was always given an "X" in the media and in the courtroom in order to protect her privacy. The girl became pregnant after being raped and reported suicidal intentions to her mother. Since abortion was still illegal in Ireland, the family traveled to England for an abortion. Prior to the abortion, the family asked the Irish police whether DNA from the aborted fetus would be sufficient evidence of rape in court. When prosecutor Harry Whelehan learned of the family's intentions, he applied for an injunction (under Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution) that ultimately prohibited the family's intentions. The order of the High Court was then handed over to the Supreme Court, which overturned the judgment in the last instance with 3 to 2 votes. The court ruled that the affected constitutional article (which was amended by the 8th constitutional amendment) allowed the mother's right to abortion in the case of suicidal intent. X had a miscarriage shortly after the verdict, before the abortion could be performed.

13. Amendment to the Constitution (1992)

The 13th constitutional amendment, the second in a series of constitutional amendments addressing abortion, stipulated that the prohibition of abortion does not restrict freedom of travel. The change came into effect on December 23, 1992. The background to this was the described X case .

14. Amendment to the Constitution (1992)

The 14th constitutional amendment, the third in a series of constitutional amendments to address abortion, gave Irish citizens the right to find out about and practice abortion abroad. The change came into effect on December 23, 1992. The background here, as with the 12th and 13th constitutional amendments, was the described X case .

Strictly speaking, the constitutional amendment made the new rights very general by allowing Irish citizens to "find out" about "services" (legal there) in other countries, even if they are illegal in Ireland .

15. Amendment to the Constitution (1995)

The 15th amendment to the Constitution removed the prohibition on divorce from the constitution and came into effect on November 24, 1995. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil government under Charles J. Haughey , and supported by Fine Gael , the Progressive Democrats, and workers 'and farmers' unions.

Until 1995 the Irish Constitution excluded all divorce; an image of the religious ideas at the time of their creation (1937). Several other countries (e.g. Italy ) also had similar articles in their constitutions in the 1930s . In the 1980s , however, the prohibition of divorce was considered un liberal and discriminatory towards religions that did not share the Christian view of divorce. In 1986 the Fine Gael government under Garret FitzGerald made a first attempt to remove this controversial article, but the 10th constitutional amendment was rejected by referendum. When Fine Gael came to power again in 1994 with John Bruton , the party made another attempt, which was finally approved after heated debates and an extremely narrow majority. The divorce was tied to certain conditions.

16. Amendment to the Constitution (1996)

The 16th amendment to the Constitution allowed the courts to refuse bail release if the person was at risk of reoffending and came into effect on December 12, 1996. Up until now, it was only possible to refuse the deposit if there was a risk of escape. The change was approved by the Fine Gael - Labor Party -Regierung under John Bruton introduced and of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats supported.

17. Amendment to the Constitution (1997)

The 17th constitutional amendment gave the High Court the ability to release information on it in special situations, despite Cabinet meeting confidentiality policies. The change came into effect on November 14, 1997. and was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats government under Bertie Ahern , but already drafted by the Fine Gael - Labor Party government under John Bruton .

The background to this was the investigation by a tribunal into government corruption in 1992, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the confidentiality of cabinet meetings cannot be broken by the constitution. With this change, information can now be released in special cases by court order.

18. Amendment to the Constitution (1998)

The 18th constitutional amendment allowed the state to ratify the Amsterdam Treaty and came into force on June 3, 1998. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and also supported by Fine Gael and the Labor Party .

Like the 10th and 11th constitutional amendments, these also served to recognize treaties of the EU , in this case the Treaty of Amsterdam

19. Amendment to the Constitution (1998)

The 19th amendment to the Constitution changed Articles 2 and 3 (relating to Northern Ireland) as agreed by the Good Friday Convention and came into force on June 3, 1998. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and supported by all major parties.

Prior to 1998, Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution contained the controversial statement that the entire island of Ireland is "national territory". Although the amendment, which defused the controversial wording, entered into force in the 1998 referendum, the Irish government wanted to ensure that the other aspects of the agreement were also implemented. Therefore, the paragraphs were not changed directly, only the possibility of introducing the change later by means of a formal declaration by the government was added. It did so in 1999. The amendments to the two articles were requested by unionists during the negotiations on the Good Friday Agreement.

20th constitutional amendment (1999)

The 20th constitutional amendment officially recognized local governments and stipulated that their elections have to take place at least every 5 years. It came into force on June 23, 1999. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and supported by all major parties.

Before 1999, local government had been part of Irish politics for years but was never explicitly recognized in the constitution. Furthermore, there were fears that without the stipulation in the constitution, the terms of office would be significantly longer than the required 5 years.

21. Amendment to the Constitution (2001)

The 21st constitutional amendment banned the death penalty from the constitution and came into force on March 27, 2002 (the vote, however, took place in 2001). The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and supported by all parties.

The last execution in the Republic of Ireland took place in 1954 and the death penalty has been abolished by law since 1990, which is also one of the requirements the EU has of its member states. The 21st constitutional amendment also stipulated that the death penalty could not be introduced by law even in times of war or "national emergency". The relatively high number of "no" votes in this referendum is somewhat curious. This came about because many opponents of the death penalty were of the opinion that the vote was for or against (and not "Should the death penalty be abolished?") And therefore (mistakenly) ticked "No".

(planned) 22nd constitutional amendment (2001)

The 22nd constitutional amendment should introduce a body that can investigate judges and change the process of judges' impeachment. This constitutional amendment was not approved in parliament and was therefore not part of the 2001 referendum in June 2001.

23. Amendment to the Constitution (2001)

The 23rd constitutional amendment was used to recognize the International Criminal Court and came into force on March 27, 2002 (the vote, however, took place in 2001). The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and supported by all major parties.

(planned) 24th constitutional amendment (2001)

The 24th constitutional amendment was originally intended to ratify the Treaty of Nice and incorporate it into the constitution. Although this constitutional amendment was voted against in 2001, the treaty was approved a year later (with the 26th constitutional amendment).

(planned) 25th constitutional amendment (2002)

The 25th constitutional amendment, like the 12th constitutional amendment, was an attempt to tighten the guidelines for abortion and to restrict the rights of mothers. This vote was also voted against (albeit very tightly).

26. Amendment to the Constitution (2002)

The 26th amendment to the Constitution recognized the Treaty of Nice and came into force on November 7, 2002. The change was introduced by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and supported by all major parties.

This was the second attempt (after 2001) to ratify the Nice Treaty. One of the arguments against the treaty in 2001 was that it might jeopardize Irish neutrality. Therefore, in the course of this vote, another article was introduced that stipulated that Ireland would not join the EU's Defense Pact.

27. Amendment to the Constitution (2004)

The 27th constitutional amendment stipulated that children born in Ireland whose parents are both non-Irish citizens no longer have a constitutional right to Irish citizenship. The change was tabled by the Fianna Fáil - Progressive Democrats coalition under Bertie Ahern and was supported by Fine Gael in principle , even though it was criticized that insufficient discussions about it had taken place. Opponents of the change were among others the Labor Party , Sinn Féin , SDLP , the Greens and the official Irish human rights commission Irish Council for Civil Liberties .

The right to citizenship through birth ( Ius Soli ), which was valid until 2004, had existed in the law since 1922 and in the constitution since 1999 (as part of the Good Friday Agreement ). After this guarantee was introduced into the Constitution in 1999, concerns arose that asylum seekers and illegal immigrants could obtain Irish citizenship for their children by having a child in Ireland (or Northern Ireland). Then in January the Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional for the government to deport (non-Irish) parents whose children are Irish citizens. In May 2004, the European Court of Justice ruled that a mother whose child was born in Northern Ireland (and thus automatically had Irish citizenship) can stay in the UK with her child .

The 27th constitutional amendment should not completely abolish citizenship at birth , but only the constitutional right to it. The citizenship by birth then existed by law further and could be modified or abolished by the government by simple law. Today, citizenship is still available at birth to those who

  • were born on the Irish Island or the Irish Sea, and
  • at least one parent of whom is Irish national.

This change does not apply retrospectively, ie it did not result in any withdrawals of citizenships.

The government presented the change as closing a loophole and aligning Irish law with the rest of Europe. No other nation in the EU grants citizenship the way Ireland does - outside the EU, the US has a similar system. Part of the criticism of the constitutional amendment related to the fact that it was pulled through quite quickly, without proper discussion and with quite populist arguments. Another point of criticism is racist concerns, as the system of citizenship could be changed by law and thus used for racial discrimination (e.g. denial for special population groups).

36th constitutional amendment (2018)

The referendum provides for a liberalization of the extremely strict regulation on abortion . A two-thirds majority of the electorate voted in favor of this liberalization and thus the deletion of the eighth amendment to the Irish constitution, which was adopted in a referendum in 1983. The article provides for a complete ban on abortions with the threat of imprisonment of up to 14 years, exceptions only exist in the event of acute danger to the life of the pregnant woman.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced that, based on the referendum, a deadline regulation will be introduced in 2018 , as it applies in many other European countries. The vote is seen as a historical change, as it will be the first time that legal abortions will be possible in Ireland, which is strongly influenced by Catholicism.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The first two constitutional amendments took place under the transitional provisions of the constitution and were implemented without a referendum. The date indicated is the date the Law was signed by the President of Ireland.
  2. ↑ Referendum Results | The Irish Times. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .