Law of The Republic of Ireland - Statute Law

Statute Law

Modern-day statute law is made by the bicameral National Parliament — more commonly know by its Irish name, the Oireachtas. Acts of the Oireachtas are split into sequentially numbered sections and may be cited by using a short title which gives the act a title roughly based on its subject matter and the year in which it was enacted. While the Oireachtas is bicameral, the upper house, the Senate, has little power which at most allows the Senate to delay rather than veto legislation.

Article 50 of the Constitution of Ireland carried over all laws that had been in force in the Irish Free State prior to its coming into force on 29 December 1937. A similar function had been fulfilled by Article 73 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State, which carried over all legislation that had in force in Southern Ireland. As a result, while the Irish state has been in existence for less than one hundred years, the statute book stretches back in excess of 800 years. By virtue of the Statute Law Revision Act 2007, the oldest Act currently in force in Ireland is the Fairs Act 1204. The statute law of Ireland includes law passed by the following:

• Pre-union Irish statutes
  • the King of England as a lawgiver for Ireland, and the Parliament of Ireland (1169-1800)

• English and British statutes, which applied to Ireland in their original enactment or were subsequently applied to Ireland
  • the King of England (1066–1241)
  • the Parliament of England (1241–1706)
  • the Parliament of Great Britain (1707–1800)

• Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
  • the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which applied to Ireland in their original enactment or were subsequently applied to Ireland (1 January 1801 to 5 December 1922)

• Statutes of independent Ireland
  • the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State (6 December 1922 to 28 December 1937)
  • the present Oireachtas (from 29 December 1937 to date)