The Irish Constitution

Question 1

Address the executive power

Answer 1

The executive is the Government of the day (Article 28.2). The Government is headed by An Taoiseach (Article 28.5) and his cabinet is made up of the Ministers of State (Article 28.1). The Government is
responsible to the Dáil – Article 28.4.1° – and it meets and acts as a collective – Art 28.4.2°. The
Constitution sets out the functioning of the executive, and how it is to be constituted.

Question 2

Address the legislative power

Answer 2

Article 15.1.2° provides that the Oireachtas, shall comprise the President and two houses: an upper house (the Seanad), and a lower house or house of directly elected representatives (Dáil Éireann). Subject to the limitation that the Oireachtas shall not enact any law which is repugnant or contrary to
the Constitution (Article 15.4), the Oireachtas is the sole and exclusive law-making institution in the State (Article 15.2.1°).

Question 3

Address the judiciary power

Answer 3

The Constitution required the establishment of courts of first instance and courts of appeal (Article 34.2). The superior courts are specifically named in the Constitution – the Supreme Court (Articles 34.3.3° and 34.5), the Court of Appeal (Articles 34.2 and 34.4), and the High Court (Article 34.3). The Court of Appeal is a new addition to our court system. It was formally established 28 October 2014. The Constitution also requires the appointment of independent judges to administer justice in these courts (Article 35.2)

Question 4

Address the fundamental rights provisions

Answer 4

The second part of the Constitution, Articles 40-44, is headed Fundamental Rights and it guarantees the protection of enumerated and unenumerated/derived rights for individuals. Enumerated rights are those expressly named in the Constitution. Rights, enumerated and unenumerated/derived, are to be found in other provisions too, such as Article 38 (right to a fair trial).
N.B. No right protected in the Constitution is absolute. Rights can and do come into conflict with one another, and when they do, it is for the judiciary to decide which right takes precedence. See X v. A.G.,
[1991] 1 I.R. 1 and Heaney v. Ireland, [1994] 3 I.R. 593

Question 5

Which are the two meanings of the word “precedent”?

Answer 5

1. Precedent = synonymous of “case” ( cited as the precedent for a particular legal principle/law).The precedent is the statement of law contained in the case
2. precedent = process by which judicial decisions are binding on certain courts (doctrine of precedent/stare decisis).