Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
ensured that certain adoption orders would not be found to be unconstitutional because they had not been made by a court. It was effected by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution (Adoption) Act, 1979 which was approved by referendum on 5 July 1979 and signed into law on the 3 August 1979 of the same year.
government but was supported by every other major political party and not controversial. It was put to a referendum on the same day as the similarly uncontroversial Seventh Amendment
which dealt with university constituencies for the election of the Senate. The Sixth Amendment was approved almost unanimously on a low turnout with 601,694 (99.0%) votes in favour and 6,265 (1.0%) against.
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
ensured that certain adoption orders would not be found to be unconstitutional because they had not been made by a court. It was effected by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution (Adoption) Act, 1979 which was approved by referendum on 5 July 1979 and signed into law on the 3 August 1979 of the same year.
Changes to the text
- Insertion of new Article 37.2:
- No adoption of a person taking effect or expressed to take effect at any time after the coming into operation of this Constitution under laws enacted by the Oireachtas and being an adoption pursuant to an order made or an authorisation given by any person or body of persons designated by those laws to exercise such functions and powers was or shall be invalid by reason only of the fact that such persons or body of persons was not a judge or a court appointed or established as such under this Constitution.
- (Article 37 therefore renumbered as Article 37.1)
Overview
In 1977 it came to light that for technical reasons child adoption orders made by An Bord Uchtála (the Adoption Board) might be found to be unconstitutional because they were not made by a court or judge. An amendment was therefore required to put the validity of these orders beyond question. The Sixth Amendment was introduced by a Fianna FáilFianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
government but was supported by every other major political party and not controversial. It was put to a referendum on the same day as the similarly uncontroversial Seventh Amendment
Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland provided that the procedure for the election of six members of the Senate by university graduates could be altered by law...
which dealt with university constituencies for the election of the Senate. The Sixth Amendment was approved almost unanimously on a low turnout with 601,694 (99.0%) votes in favour and 6,265 (1.0%) against.
Result
See also
- Politics of the Republic of IrelandPolitics of the Republic of IrelandIreland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, this is a largely ceremonial position with real political power being vested in the indirectly elected Taoiseach who is...
- History of the Republic of IrelandHistory of the Republic of IrelandThe Irish state originally came into being in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth, having seceded from the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It comprises of 26 of Ireland's 32 counties...
- Constitutional amendmentConstitutional amendmentA constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
- Irish constitutional referendum, 1979Irish constitutional referendum, 1979Two referendums were held together in Ireland on 5 July 1979, each on a proposed amendment of the Irish constitution. Both proposals were approved by voters.-Sixth Amendment:...
External links
- Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1979 (Full text at IrishStatuteBook.ie)
- Full text of the Constitution of Ireland (Accurate up to and including the Twenty-seventh Amendment from Department of the Taoiseach)
- The Unabridged Constitution of Ireland (Unofficial variorum edition – accurate only up to Twentieth Amendment)