Legal system
1. Is your jurisdiction primarily a common law, civil law,
customary law or theocratic law jurisdiction? Are the laws
substantially derived from the laws of another jurisdiction and, if
so, which? What instruments have legal force and effect? Who are
the lawmaking bodies? How and where are new laws published? Can
laws be passed with retrospective effect?
Ireland is a common law jurisdiction deriving its laws
substantially from laws of other common law jurisdictions,
principally England and Wales. The Constitution, Acts of
Parliament, Statutory Instruments, regulations, European Union
legislation all have legal force and effect. The Oireachtas (the
Irish parliament comprising two houses – Dáil
Éireann and Seanad Éireann) is the lawmaking body.
New laws are published by the Oireachtas on the Irish Statute Book
(irishstatutebook.ie) and are signed into law by the President.
Laws can be passed with retrospective effect, provided they do not
seek to
