Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

The Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution Act 2001 (previously bill no. 16 of 2001) is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which introduced a constitutional ban on the death penalty and removed all references to capital punishment from the text. It was approved by referendum on 7 June 2001 and signed into law on 27 March 2002. The referendum was held on the same day as referendums on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was also approved, and on the ratification of the Nice Treaty, which was rejected.

Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
7 June 2001 (2001-06-07)
To ban the death penalty
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 610,455 62.08%
No 372,950 37.92%
Valid votes 983,405 98.55%
Invalid or blank votes 14,480 1.45%
Total votes 997,885 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 2,867,960 34.79%

Background

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Capital punishment in Ireland had been abolished by the Criminal Justice Act 1990. The purpose of the amendment was therefore not to end the practice, but rather to forbid the Oireachtas from reintroducing the death penalty in future, even during a state of emergency. This is the only explicit exception to the sweeping powers otherwise granted to the state during such an emergency.

The last execution in Ireland occurred in 1954 when the murderer Michael Manning was hanged, the sentence being carried out by Albert Pierrepoint who travelled from Great Britain where he was an official hangman.[1] The penalty has been abolished in law since 1990. It is furthermore a condition of the membership of any country of the European Union that it abolish capital punishment. Ireland is also party to a number of international agreements forbidding the death penalty. These include Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights which forbids capital punishment even during time of war.

Changes to the text

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Article 15.5 to be renumbered as 15.5.1° and the insertion of a new subsection to Article 15.5:

2° The Oireachtas shall not enact any law providing for the imposition of the death penalty.

Addition of the highlighted text to the first sentence of Article 28.3.3°:

Nothing in this Constitution other than Article 15.5.2° shall be invoked to invalidate any law enacted by the Oireachtas which is expressed to be for the purpose of securing the public safety and the preservation of the State in time of war or armed rebellion, or to nullify any act done or purporting to be done in time of war or armed rebellion in pursuance of any such law.

Deletion of the highlighted text from Article 13.6:

The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President, but such power of commutation or remission may, except in capital cases, also be conferred by law on other authorities.

Deletion of the following subsection from Article 40.4:

5° Where an order is made under this section by the High Court or a judge thereof for the production of the body of a person who is under sentence of death, the High Court or such judge thereof shall further order that the execution of the said sentence of death shall be deferred until after the body of such person has been produced before the High Court and the lawfulness of his detention has been determined and if, after such deferment, the detention of such person is determined to be lawful, the High Court shall appoint a day for the execution of the said sentence of death and that sentence shall have effect with the substitution of the day so appointed for the day originally fixed for the execution thereof.

Subsections 6° and 7° of Article 40.4 renumbered as subsections 5° and 6° respectively.

Oireachtas debate

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The Twenty-first Amendment was proposed in Dáil Éireann by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform John O'Donoghue on 11 April 2001 on behalf of the Fianna FáilProgressive Democrats coalition government led by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.[2] One member spoke against, Fine Gael TD Brendan McGahon; otherwise, it had the support of all members of the Dáil. It passed final stages without amendment on the same day.[3] It passed all stages in Seanad Éireann on 1 May, and proceeded to a referendum on 7 June 2001.[4]

Campaign

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A Referendum Commission was established by Minister for the Environment and Local Government Noel Dempsey.[5] It was chaired by former Chief Justice Thomas Finlay. At the time, its role included setting out the arguments for and against the proposal.[6]

Result

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The Twenty-first Amendment was approved on a low turnout (34%), by 62% in favour to 38% against. There were media reports after the referendum on the Twenty-first Amendment that opponents of the death penalty had mistakenly cast a "no" vote, in the belief that they were being asked to vote on capital punishment per se rather than on an amendment that would prohibit it.

Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum[7]
Choice Votes %
  Yes 610,455 62.08
No 372,950 37.92
Valid votes 983,405 98.55
Invalid or blank votes 14,480 1.45
Total votes 997,885 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 2,867,960 34.79
Results by constituency[7]
Constituency Electorate Turnout (%) Votes Proportion of votes
Yes No Yes No
Carlow–Kilkenny 92,470 34.1% 18,264 12,777 58.9% 41.1%
Cavan–Monaghan 85,803 34.7% 18,378 10,783 63.1% 36.9%
Clare 76,227 30.8% 14,458 8,678 62.5% 37.5%
Cork East 68,707 35.6% 14,414 9,690 59.8% 40.2%
Cork North-Central 75,038 33.4% 14,721 10,020 59.6% 40.4%
Cork North-West 49,749 37.5% 10,874 7,364 59.7% 40.3%
Cork South-Central 90,790 37.2% 21,197 12,166 63.6% 36.4%
Cork South-West 50,677 37.1% 11,504 6,894 62.6% 37.4%
Donegal North-East 55,035 27.6% 9,405 5,554 62.9% 37.1%
Donegal South-West 52,671 28.6% 8,786 6,029 59.4% 40.6%
Dublin Central 61,290 33.7% 12,435 7,896 61.2% 38.8%
Dublin North 70,321 37.8% 17,110 9,245 65.0% 35.0%
Dublin North-Central 64,007 43.2% 17,207 10,187 62.9% 37.1%
Dublin North-East 59,877 39.9% 14,939 8,764 63.1% 36.9%
Dublin North-West 57,284 38.3% 13,570 8,139 62.6% 37.4%
Dublin South 93,038 42.5% 27,536 11,714 70.2% 29.8%
Dublin South-Central 65,542 39.1% 16,090 9,187 63.7% 36.3%
Dublin South-East 58,820 39.6% 16,562 6,394 72.2% 27.8%
Dublin South-West 81,266 31.9% 14,761 10,884 57.6% 42.4%
Dublin West 77,760 34.4% 16,723 9,868 62.9% 37.1%
Dún Laoghaire 86,549 42.8% 26,424 10,356 71.9% 28.1%
Galway East 65,633 29.6% 11,723 7,316 61.6% 38.4%
Galway West 83,176 29.5% 15,920 8,235 66.0% 34.0%
Kerry North 53,366 32.8% 9,845 7,360 57.3% 42.7%
Kerry South 48,992 32.1% 9,537 5,886 61.9% 38.1%
Kildare North 59,035 34.4% 13,026 7,087 64.8% 35.2%
Kildare South 51,142 32.3% 9,560 6,731 58.7% 41.3%
Laois–Offaly 90,987 32.2% 16,706 11,977 58.3% 41.7%
Limerick East 80,339 34.5% 15,935 11,400 58.3% 41.7%
Limerick West 49,160 34.8% 9,882 6,845 59.1% 40.9%
Longford–Roscommon 67,305 32.0% 12,766 8,375 60.4% 39.6%
Louth 78,007 34.0% 15,616 10,547 59.7% 40.3%
Mayo 90,336 30.1% 15,912 10,737 59.8% 40.2%
Meath 101,888 32.6% 20,221 12,582 61.7% 38.3%
Sligo–Leitrim 66,748 35.2% 13,894 9,086 60.5% 39.5%
Tipperary North 56,278 34.0% 11,590 7,143 61.9% 38.1%
Tipperary South 53,463 37.0% 11,373 7,989 58.8% 41.2%
Waterford 71,946 35.0% 14,984 9,775 60.6% 39.4%
Westmeath 51,664 31.6% 9,384 6,658 58.5% 41.5%
Wexford 90,507 33.4% 17,450 12,240 58.8% 41.2%
Wicklow 85,067 38.3% 19,773 12,392 61.5% 38.5%
Total 2,867,960 34.8% 610,455 372,950 62.1% 37.9%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wallace, Colm (2016). Sentenced to Death: Saved from the Gallows. Bantry: Somerville Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780992736491.
  2. ^ "Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill, 2001: Second Stage". Houses of the Oireachtas. 11 April 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill, 2001: Committee and Remaining Stages". Houses of the Oireachtas. 11 April 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill, 2001: Committee and Remaining Stages". Houses of the Oireachtas. 1 May 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  5. ^ "S.I. No. 53/1998 - Referendum Act, 1998. Referendum Commission (Establishment) Order, 1998". Irish Statute Book. 2 March 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Referendum Act, 1998". Irish Statute Book. 26 February 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Referendum Results 1937–2015" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 23 August 2016. p. 64. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
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