Law of The Republic of Ireland - International Law

International Law

Ireland is a dualist state and treaties are not part of Irish domestic law unless incorporated by the Oireachtas. An exception to this rule might well be the provision in the constitution which says that "Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States." However while this provision has been held to assimilate the doctrine of sovereign immunity into domestic law, the Supreme Court have held that the provision is not capable of conferring rights on individuals.

The dualist approach in international law contained in the Irish Constitution allows the state to sign and ratify treaties without incorporating them into domestic law. Thus while Ireland was one of the first states in Europe to ratify the European Convention on Human Rights it was one of the last to incorporate the Convention into domestic law. And when done it was not directly incorporated into Irish law but given indirect, sub-constitutional, interpretative incorporation.

In Crotty v. An Taoiseach, the Irish Supreme Court asserted a power to review the constitutionality of treaties signed by the state, such that the government could be prevented from signing up to international agreements which would be contrary to the constitution. A ruling which has resulted in ad hoc amendments to the constitution in order to permit the state to ratify treaties that might otherwise have been contrary to the constitution.