The Reason For The Royal Assent
All legislation enacted by the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann required the Royal Assent to become law for three reasons.
- Article 12 stated that the Oireachtas consisted "of the King and two Houses, the Chamber of Deputies (... "Dáil Éireann") and the Senate (... "Seanad Éireann")". As a result the King through his representative, the Governor-General, was a full participant in law making.
- In the event of a dispute the signature of the Governor-General on the Act was evidence that it had been fully and validly enacted. This could prove important were in the future a dispute to arise over whether a particular Act had properly been enacted. An example would be where the Dáil was dissolved the same day as the Bill completed its passage. If it had not already received the Royal Assent prior to the dissolution the Bill would fall (ie, die). The existence of the Governor-General's signature would act as proof that the Bill had received its Royal Assent before the dissolution, even if only by one minute.
- All Acts of the Oireachtas in the Free State were translated into the two state languages, Irish and English. Whichever the Governor-General signed into law would receive primacy in the event of a clash in the texts. (Article 42)
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