Ireland's Acceptance of the International Criminal Court

AuthorCatherine Turner
PositionSenior Sophister in Law, Trinity College, Dublin
Pages287-291
HOME RULE
OR
ROME
RULE?:
IRELAND'S
ACCEPTANCE
OF
THE
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL
COURT
In
June
2001
the
Irish
people
were
asked
to
vote
in
a
number
of
referenda.
The most
contentious and
highly
publicised
of
these
was
that
regarding
the
This
particular referendum
attracted
much
debate
from
a
wide
range
of
interest
groups,
and
featured
a
great
deal
of
political
scare-mongering over
issues that
were
arguably
much
less
significant than
was
suggested
by
the
"No"
campaign.
Yet,
in
the
midst
of
the
hype
surrounding
the
Nice referendum,
another
passed virtually
unnoticed
-
that
asking
the
people
to
assent
to
the
ratification
of
the
Rome
Statute
establishing
the
International
Criminal
Court.
The
debate
surrounding this
referendum
was
notable
by
its
absence.
For
all
the
hype
surrounding
the
issues
contained
in
Nice,
and
in
particular
how
ratification
of
it
would
compromise
Ireland's
power
and
sovereignty,
the government,
and
consequently
the
people,
at
the
same
time
passed,
without
comment,
a
treaty
with potentially
equal
if
not
greater
impact
on
Ireland.
Constitutionality
To date,
the
majority
of
states
that
have
incorporated
the
Statute
into their
domestic
legal
orders
having
done
so
by
constitutional interpretation
rather
than
by
amendment. Article
29.4.20
of
the
Constitution
confers
upon
the
government
the
power
to
enter
into
international
agreements,
adopted
for
the
like
purpose
by
the
members
of
any
group or
league
of
nations with which
the State
is
or
becomes
associated
for
the
purpose
of
international
co-operation
in
matters
of
common
concern.
Clearly
the
United Nations
could
be
regarded
as
such
a
body. It
could,
therefore,
have
been argued
that
ratification
of
the Rome
Statute
was
a
natural consequence
of
such
membership, thereby
dispensing
with
the
need
for
a
constitutional
amendment
and
allowing
provisions
of
the
Statute
to
be
incorporated
into
law
through
legislation
while
at
the
same
time remaining
within
the
provisions
of
the
Constitution.
From
an
early stage
however,
it
was
accepted that,
for
Ireland,
an
amendment
and
therefore
a
referendum
would
be
necessary.
As
Brian

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