Collection Items
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ArticleIreland: High Court Finds Government in Breach of EU-Imposed Duty concerning Asylum Seeker Protection On April 21, 2023, the High Court of Ireland determined that the minister for children, equality and youth, along with others in the government, had failed to meet the duty imposed on them by the European Union (EU) to grant a 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker accommodation or shelter, and provide him with food and basic … Continue reading “Ireland: High Court Finds Government in…
- Contributor: Feikert-Ahalt, Clare
- Date: 2023-07-19
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ArticleEngland: New Restrictions for UK and Irish Travelers Returning from High-Risk COVID-19 Countries (Feb. 16, 2021) On February 15, 2021, England established increased testing, stronger enforcement, and more stringent quarantine requirements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The U.K. government banned entry to all but U.K. and Irish citizens and residents from 33 countries considered “high risk” for transmitting new variants of COVID-19. These countries are […]
- Contributor: Feikert-Ahalt, Clare
- Date: 2021-02-16
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ArticleItaly: Legislation on Ministry of Foreign Affairs Implemented (Feb. 21, 2017) On January 16, 2017, legislation reorganizing certain executive-level positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs entered into effect in Italy. (Decree of the President of the Republic, No. 260 of December 29, 2016, Regulations for the Implementation of Article 20 of Law No. 125 of August 11, 2014, and Other Amendments to […]
- Contributor: Figueroa, Dante
- Date: 2017-02-21
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ArticleIreland: Judgment Clarifies Definition of Consent in Rape Cases (Nov. 21, 2016) As a result of a recent judgment from the Irish Supreme Court, the Irish government will introduce legislation to establish a definition of consent for rape. In the case decided November 11, 2016, the Court held that a woman has a constitutional right to the integrity of her body and that the […]
- Contributor: Feikert-Ahalt, Clare
- Date: 2016-11-21
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ArticleIreland: Gender Recognition Bill Passed (July 31, 2015) On July 15, 2015, the Gender Recognition Bill 2014 was passed by the Oireachtas (Irish legislature). (Gender Recognition Bill 2014, No. 116/2014, HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS.) The bill was signed into law by the President of Ireland on July 22. (2015 Legislation, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND.) The bill enables transgender people to obtain […]
- Contributor: Acosta, Luis
- Date: 2015-07-31
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ArticleIreland: New Companies Act Takes Effect (June 19, 2015) On June 1, 2015, the Companies Act 2014 took effect in Ireland. (Companies Act 2014, No. 38/2014, IRISH STATUTE BOOK.) This is the largest piece of legislation ever enacted in Ireland, comprising a total of 25 Parts (1448 sections) and 17 Schedules. The Act consolidates 16 existing Companies Acts – dating from […]
- Contributor: Acosta, Luis
- Date: 2015-06-19
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ArticleIreland: Modified Rules on Abortion Considered (May 10, 2013) On May 1, 2013, Enda Kenny, the Prime Minister of Ireland, introduced the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. If adopted, the bill would establish new rules governing the provision of abortion to save a pregnant woman’s life, but would not greatly alter
- Contributor: Johnson, Constance
- Date: 2013-05-10
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ArticleIreland: Reform of Begging Laws (July 14, 2011) On February 2, 2011, the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) enacted the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2011, No. 5/2011 (Office of the Attorney General of Ireland, Irish Statute Book website (last visited July 6, 2011)). Almost two months after the Act's adoption, nearly 180 arrests were made under its provisions. (Jamie Smyth, Garda […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2011-07-14
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ArticleIreland: Government Response to Loss in European Court Ruling on Abortion Law (Jan. 4, 2011) On December 16, 2010, the office of the head of the government in Ireland issued a statement indicating that the government would study the issue of what steps the country needs to take in order to comply with a recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that found that […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2011-01-04
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ArticleIreland: EU Divorce Plan Rejected (July 7, 2010) Ireland has declined to take part in a European Union plan for enhanced cooperation in divorce cases. The proposed scheme has been agreed upon by 14 Member States implementing, for the first time, rules contained in the Lisbon Treaty allowing core countries to proceed in an initiative without all Member States taking […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-07-07
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ArticleIreland: New Arbitration Act (May 21, 2010) With the intention of modernizing its existing law and capitalizing on its great popularity with both business and recreational visitors, Ireland has enacted a new Arbitration Act that will go into force on June 8, 2010. (No.1/2010 (Ir.), http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2010/en/act/pub/0001/index.html (last visited May 18, 2010).) The new law incorporates both the 1958 New […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-05-21
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ArticleIreland: New Law to Promote Safety in Offshore Drilling (Apr. 22, 2010) Ireland's Parliament (the Oireachtas) has recently enacted a new Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act, Act 4/2010 (Ir.). The Act has not yet been published in the Irish Statute Book (it would have been available through the online version of the Statute Book, at http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2010/acts.htm (last visited Apr. 20, 2010)), but the […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-04-22
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ArticleIreland: Only Conviction in Omagh Bombing Overturned (Mar. 26, 2010) On August 15, 1998, a bomb killed 29 persons in the Northern Irish town of Omagh, just north of the United Kingdom's border with the Republic of Ireland. A group known as the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the atrocity, but stated that its target was “commercial” and that it had not […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-03-26
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ArticleIreland: Government Creating Incineration Capacity and Tax (Mar. 4, 2010) On February 9, 2010, the Government of Ireland issued a statement to confirm that it is proceeding with the waste management strategy contained in the 2007 Programme for Government and the 2009 Renewed Program for Government. The statement went on to indicate that the Government is drafting legislation to impose a levy […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-03-04
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ArticleIreland: New Prohibition on Blasphemy (Jan. 8, 2010) On January 1, 2010, new provisions contained in the Defamation Act, 2009 of the Republic of Ireland, on prohibiting the making of blasphemous statements, came into effect. The relevant section of the new law states that a person “publishes or utters blasphemous matter” if the material “is grossly abusive or insulting in […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2010-01-08
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ArticleIreland: Referendum on EU Operations Passes (Oct. 7, 2009) In a referendum held on October 2, 2009, the voters of Ireland ratified the Treaty of Lisbon – a European Union (EU) agreement that would make a number of significant changes to the EU's operational and decision-making procedures and powers – by a margin of approximately 67 percent in favor to 33 […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2009-10-07
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ArticleIreland; United Kingdom: British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body Recommends Improved Police Cooperation (July 13, 2009) The British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body (BIIPB) was formed in 1990 to address issues of bilateral concern. The body consists of Members of the Parliament in London, the Oireachtas in Dublin, the Assembly of Northern Ireland in Belfast, and the legislatures for Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. (CURRENT MEMBERS of the British-Irish […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2009-07-13
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ArticleIreland: Sharp Increases in Personal Taxes Introduced (Apr. 10, 2009) On April 7, 2009, Ireland's Minister of Finance introduced a Supplemental Budget in the Dáil Éireann, or lower chamber of Parliament, that leaves Ireland's low corporate tax rates of ten percent on manufacturing and 12.5 percent on most business income untouched, but sharply increases personal taxes and levies. (Department of Finance, The […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2009-04-10
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ArticleIreland: Language Requirements for Barristers Changed (Feb. 17, 2009) Prior to 2008, in order to become a barrister in Ireland, a person had to pass an examination to prove that he or she was “competent” in the Irish language. (Legal Practioners (Qualification) Act, 1929 (Act No. 16/1929 (Ir.), http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1929/en/act/pub/0016/index.html (last visited Feb. 9, 2009)). Although Irish (which is often referred to […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2009-02-17
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ArticleIreland: Entitlement to Medical Cards for the Aged Qualified (Jan. 12, 2009) Ireland does not have a national health care system or a national health insurance program in which all citizens are automatically enrolled. However, Ireland does offer medical cards to certain groups of persons considered to have special needs. These medical cards are used by their holders to pay for all or a […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2009-01-12
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ArticleIreland: President Signs Bank Guarantee Law (Oct. 8, 2008) The Irish banking system is highly concentrated, with six major domestic banks operating throughout the country. On September 29, 2008, the governor of the central bank warned the Minister of Finance that the Irish banking system was facing an “unprecedented shortage of liquidity in financial markets” and that the risks to financial […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2008-10-08
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ArticleIreland: Proposal to Arm Police Stirs Debate (Apr. 2, 2008) In Ireland, uniformed members of the national police force, the Garda Siochana, have traditionally not carried firearms. In emergency situations, special plainclothes officers who have been issued firearms have been called to the scene. However, recent increases in the overall level of violence and several well-publicized incidents of shootings at police officers […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2008-04-02
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ArticleIreland: New Minimum Sentences for Certain Drug Offenses (Feb. 2, 2008) The Government of Ireland has passed legislation creating stiff new penalties for drug trafficking. Under the new law, persons convicted of dealing in drugs having a value in excess of €13,000 (approximately US$19,240) must be sentenced to at least ten years' imprisonment, except in certain special cases, and they may be sentenced […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2008-02-02
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ArticleIreland: Civil Unions Legislation (Jan. 2, 2008) Article 41.3 of the Irish Constitution provides, "[t]he State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, upon which the Family is founded, and protect it against attack." (Ir. Const. 1937, art. 41.3, available at http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index. asp?docID=243 (official source).) In 2003, the High Court of Ireland held that this […]
- Contributor: Clarke, Stephen
- Date: 2008-01-02