The New Irish Constitution: An Exposition and Some Arguments
History
The New Irish Constitution: An Exposition and Some Arguments
Home rule -- Ireland; Ireland -- Politics and government
The new Bill proposes a delegation of authority, both executive and
legislative. Unlike a Federal constitution, it contemplates no
distribution of sovereignty (begging a question which has often vexed the
jurists as to the partibility of sovereignty). The new Government in
Ireland will, indeed, be carried on in the name of the Crown, the writs of
the Irish Court will run in the King’s name, the statutes of the Irish
Parliament will be enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and Commons. But the Imperial
Government and the Imperial Parliament will remain supreme. The executive
power in Ireland will continue vested in His Majesty, though some
prerogatives may be delegated to the Lord-Lieutenant who, as respects
them, will exist in a dual capacity—some of these he will exercise on the
advice of the Imperial Government, others on the advice of the Irish
Government. So far, however, as the law, as distinguished from convention,
is concerned, he will be in no way bound to act on the advice of his Irish
Ministers except in so far as his “instructions” require him to do so. The
words of the Bill do, indeed, contemplate with more explicitness than is
usual in our written constitutions, a transfer of executive as well as of
legislative authority, but they are by no means exhaustive, and they still
leave it to His Majesty to determine(11) what prerogatives shall be
delegated after the Act has come into force. As regards the legislative
power, it will remain with the Imperial Government to give it effect by
granting or withholding the King’s assent to Irish legislation,(12) and
the Imperial Parliament may, at any time, exercise its supremacy to the
prejudice of such legislation, even after it has found its way on to the
Irish statute-book. As regards the judiciary, there will, of course, be no
dual judiciary: Irish Courts will interpret and enforce Imperial as well
as Irish statutes, but both in the one case and in the other their
judgments will be subject to appeal to an Imperial Court—the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council. In other words, the Imperial power will be
supreme in the executive, the legislative, and the judicial sphere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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