The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No. 58 of 1936) was an Act of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

(Irish parliament). The Act, which was signed into law on 12 December 1936, was one of two passed hurriedly in the aftermath of the

Edward VIII abdication crisis In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was in the process of divorcing her second. ...

to sharply reduce the role of the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

. It is also sometimes referred to as the External Relations Act.

Background and provisions of the Act

Under the

Constitution of the Irish Free State The Constitution of the Irish Free State () was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,

as originally enacted, the executive authority of the Irish Free State was declared to be vested in the King and declared to be exercisable by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

as representative of the Crown. But the

1932 Irish general election The 1932 Irish general election to the 7th Dáil was held on Tuesday, 16 February, following the dissolution of the 6th Dáil on 29 January by Governor-General James McNeill on the advice of President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrav ...

was won by

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

, led by

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

and other republicans who had opposed the monarchial elements in the constitution, and part of their programme aimed to reduce the role and visibility of the monarch in Irish political life. In the aftermath of King Edward VIII's signing of an

Instrument of Abdication His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 3) is the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his brother King George ...

on 10 December 1936, the

Oireachtas of the Irish Free State The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State () was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was the first independent Irish ...

enacted the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936 abolishing the office of the Governor-General so that thereafter the powers of the

Executive Council of the Irish Free State The Executive Council () was the cabinet and executive branch of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Formally, executive power was vested in the Governor-General on behalf of the King. In practice, however, it was the Council that ...

, insofar as internal matters were concerned, ceased to be exercised in the name of the King. While the Crown was thus abolished for the purposes of internal government, article 51 of the amendment allowed the Executive Council to, for the purposes of foreign relations, make use of "any organ used as a constitutional organ for the like purposes by ther nations of the Commonwealth" The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 was enacted the following day to implement that provision. It provided that the diplomatic and consular representatives of the Irish Free State in other countries should be appointed, and that the Irish Free State's international agreements should be concluded, by the King acting on the advice of the Executive Council (as. 1–2). Thus the Act preserved the Crown to a limited extent in the sphere of external relations. More particularly, the Act stipulated (s. 3(1)) that: It was in that manner specifically provided that so long as the Irish Free State was associated with the members of the British Commonwealth and so long as the members of the Commonwealth continue to recognise the King as the symbol of their special relationship and the King acts on their behalf in the sphere of external affairs, the King shall continue to act in the external relations of the Irish Free State. The meaning of this provision was a matter of considerable uncertainty. The Act also brought King Edward VIII's Instrument of Abdication into effect for the purposes of Irish law (s. 3(2)). Due to the Act's phrasing, King Edward VIII's abdication was actually back-dated to the day before that on which it took effect in the United Kingdom and most of the other

Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act 1937

Unfortunately the speed with which the 1936 Act was passed also meant that some serious legal matters had been overlooked by the draughtsmen, touching on the top of the Irish legal hierarchy. In May 1937 these were covered by the

Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act 1937 The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 was an Act of the Oireachtas which retrospectively completed the abolition of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. In December 1936, then President of the Executive Council of t ...

. As the Governor-Generalship had not been actually abolished by the 1936 Act, this Act was required to validate the otherwise-unlawful appointment of the

Chief Justice of Ireland The chief justice of Ireland () is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and the most senior judge in the Republic of Ireland. The role includes several constitutional and administrativ ...

Timothy Sullivan Timothy Daniel Sullivan (July 23, 1862 – August 31, 1913) was a New York politician who controlled Manhattan's Bowery, Manhattan, Bowery and Lower East Side districts as a prominent leader within Tammany Hall. He was known euphemistically as " ...

. Sullivan had in turn questionably appointed three High Court judges. The recent appointment of Patrick Lynch as the

Attorney General of Ireland The attorney general of Ireland () is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabine ...

and even the pension of the outgoing Governor-General (

Domhnall Ua Buachalla Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; ; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State from 1932 to 1936, and later served as a member of the ...

) needed to be legalised.

Repeal

The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 was repealed by

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) is an Act of the Oireachtas which declares that the description of Ireland is the Republic of Ireland, and vests in the president of Ireland the power to exercise the executive authority of the ...

, which came into force on 18 April 1949 when

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

became an independent republic outside the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. The new Act vested the powers formerly possessed by the King in the President of Ireland.

References

Citations

Sources

;Primary:

Irish Statute Book The Irish Statute Book, also known as the electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), is a database produced by the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. It contains copies of Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments.