Ireland · Overview
The legal system of Ireland
A common-law system operating under a written constitution with strong judicial review and frequent constitutional referendums. Ireland is an EU member and eurozone state, and its courts routinely apply both common-law precedent and EU law.
Legal tradition
Ireland belongs to the common law tradition. A common-law system operating under a written constitution with strong judicial review and frequent constitutional referendums. Ireland is an EU member and eurozone state, and its courts routinely apply both common-law precedent and EU law.
How power is divided
Parliamentary government with a directly elected President as head of state, a bicameral Oireachtas and an independent judiciary with robust constitutional-review powers.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Bunreacht na hÉireann of 1937; amendable only by referendum.
- EU law
- Directly applicable and, in its field, paramount.
- Acts of the Oireachtas
- Primary legislation.
- Common law
- Judge-made precedent binding on lower courts.
The legal profession
A divided profession of solicitors (Law Society) and barristers (King’s Inns and the Bar), with a growing overlap in rights of audience.
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