The law of the Republic of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute and common law. The highest law in the Republic is the Constitution of Ireland, from which all other law derives its authority. The Republic has a common-law legal system with a written constitution that provides for a parliamentary democracy based on the British parliamentary system, albeit with a popularly elected president, a separation of powers, a developed system of constitutional rights and judicial review of primary legislation.
The sources of Irish law reflect Irish history and the various parliaments whose law affected the country down through the ages. Notable omissions from the list include laws passed by the First Dáil and Second Dáil, and the Brehon Laws which were traditional Celtic laws, the practice of which was only finally wiped out during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. These latter laws are void of legal significance and are of historical interest only.
Read more about Law Of The Republic Of Ireland: Constitutional Law, Statute Law, Secondary Legislation, Common Law, European Union Law, International Law
Famous quotes containing the words law of the, law of, law, republic and/or ireland:
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony
of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm XIX (l. XIX, 7)
“The very existence of government at all, infers inequality. The citizen who is preferred to office becomes the superior to those who are not, so long as he is the repository of power, and the child inherits the wealth of the parent as a controlling law of society.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of laws, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“Who is this Renaissance? Where did he come from? Who gave him permission to cram the Republic with his execrable daubs?”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“There is no topic ... more soporific and generally boring than the topic of Ireland as Ireland, as a nation.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)