1. Introduction
a. History and background
Ireland is located off the north-west coast of Europe. It is
approximately 60 miles from the mainland of the UK and, although an
island, is very much part of the European Union (EU). Ireland
consists of two separate legal jurisdictions – the Republic of
Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is entirely
self-governing through a Parliament based in Dublin. Some statutes
from as early as 1634 are still recognised as being in effect, and
other statutes from the late 13th century are technically still on
the statute books. Between the Act of Union in 1801 and
Government of Ireland Act 1922, the entire island of
Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland. Following the Anglo Irish Treaty of 1921 and
Government of Ireland Act 1922, the island of Ireland was
separated into two entities, which have since maintained their
respective legal systems. These entities are the Republic of
Ireland (consisting of 26 counties) and Northern Ireland
(consisting of six counties).
The currency in the Republic of Ireland is the euro (EUR).
b. Legal system
The legal system bears many similarities to those of both the UK
and the US. This is especially true in relation to trust and estate
law.
While English is predominantly the language in use, the Irish
language (Gaelic) is the official first national language in the
Republic of Ireland. It is taught in all schools, and all official
documents are published bilingually in Gaelic and in English. Even
so, Gaelic is not commonly spoken in the cities and survives mainly
in small rural communities known as the Gaeltacht, located
mainly in the western portion of the country.
The law comprises the three elements of constitutional law,
statutory law and common law. The Constitution of 1937 is
the basic law of the state.
The Irish Parliament consists of two elected houses: the Dail
and the Seanad. In order to be valid, any statute enacted by the
Irish Parliament (the Oireachtas) must not be repugnant to
any term in the Constitution. In addition to statutes, the
Oireachtas issues supplementary legislation through
statutory instruments. These tend to cover short administration
matters such as commencement dates for portions of legislation or
changes of monetary amounts or limits authorised in acts.
The common law of Ireland was imported from England during the
17th century when English common law replaced the Irish system of
laws (the Brehon laws). There is now a considerable jurisprudence
of reported decisions from the Irish courts in all aspects of
economic and social life.
In 1973 the Republic of Ireland became part of the then European
Economic Community. Since then its legislative, political and
social structures have been increasingly influenced by law
emanating from European Community institutions (such as the
Commission and the Council of Ministers), leading to a high degree
of uniformity with other members of the EU.