Casenote: PC v Minister for Social Protection

• Author: Celia Reynolds
• Position: Senior Freshman LLB Candidate, Trinity College Dublin
• Pages: 408-419

© 2018 Celia Reynolds and Dublin University Law Society

CASENOTE:

PC V MINISTER FOR SOCIAL

PROTECTION

[2017] IESC 63

CELIA REYNOLDS

Introduction

Behind the Four Courts, inscribed on the frieze of the Bridewell Garda

Station, is the legal maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum, ‘let justice be done, though

the heavens fall’. Traditionally, the courts have been content with the ‘quasi-

Olympian’

1

detachment from reality that this principle entails. Yet over time,

greater consideration has been given to the consequences of decisions,

particularly in the case of declarations of unconstitutionality. PC v Minister

for Social Protection

2

suggests that the Supreme Court has departed from this

maxim in establishing an alternative constitutional remedy.

This case note begins by outlining the current forms of constitutional

redress that exist in Ireland. It will then outline the facts of PC, and discuss

the judgment of the court delivered by MacMenamin J. Finally, it advocates

an approach to constitutional remedies similar to suspended declarations of

invalidity in Canada, although not as a primary form of redress. Ultimately it

will be concluded that while this remedy is a welcome development, it should

not have been employed in PC.

I. The Unintended Effects of Declarations of

Unconstitutionality

Article 15.4.2° provides that ‘every law… which is in any respect repugnant

to this Constitution or to any provision thereof, shall, but to the extent only

of such repugnancy, be invalid’. The courts have struggled to circumvent the

 Senior Freshman LLB Candidate, Trinity College Dublin. The author would like to thank the

Senior Editorial Board, in particular Christopher McMahon, for their helpful comments and

suggestions on earlier drafts of this case note.

1

David Kenny, ‘Guest Post: NVH v Minister for Justice’ (Constitution Project, 31 May 2017)

accessed 7th February 2018.

2

[2017] IESC 63.