Ирландия Азат Мемлекетінде Корольдік Келісім Процедурасы

Legal procedure in the Irish Free State

The granting, reserving or withholding of royal assent (Aontú an Rí) was one of the key roles, and potentially one of the key powers, possessed by the Governor General of the Irish Free State. Until it was granted, no bill passed by the Oireachtas (composed of the Dáil and the Seanad) could complete its passage of enactment and become law.

The power was created in Article 41 of the Irish Free State Constitution (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922 enacted both by the Third Dáil meeting as a constituent assembly and by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and brought into force by a royal proclamation of 6 December 1922.

The role of the Governor General in legislative enactment was initially defined in the Anglo Irish Treaty signed in 1921 between plenipotentiaries of the UDI Irish Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and which was ratified by three bodies; the United Kingdom parliament, the Second Dáil and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland in December 1921 – January 1922.

All legislation enacted by the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann required 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 royal assent prior to the dissolution the bill would fall (i. e., 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)

A bill, having duly passed or having been deemed to pass, in the Dáil and the Seanad, would be presented to the Governor General (in the Viceregal Lodge until 1932, in his rented residence from 1932 to 1936), by the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State. Unlike in the United Kingdom, no parliamentary ceremony was invoked to confirm that royal assent had been given. Its details would instead be published in Iris Oifigiúil (the Irish state gazette).

In 1933 the Counsellors of State, Queen Mary, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and Prince Albert, Duke of York (acting for King George V who was ill), on the advice of the President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera, formally appointed an Anti Treaty ex Fianna Fáil TD, Domhnall Ua Buachalla (Donal Buckley) to become Governor General of the Irish Free State. Though advised by de Valera's Executive Council not to carry out public engagements, Ua Buachalla continued to carry out his official state functions, including the granting of the royal assent.