Proposed changes in the Constitution

Six amendments of the Constitution will be put to the people in the referendum in the Republic on May 22nd. The amendments will be put in the form of one single question on a white ballot paper entitled "British-Irish Agreement": "Do you agree with the proposals in the 19th Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1998?"

All the proposed changes will be placed, initially, as new Sections 7 and 8 of Article 29 of the Constitution, dealing with the State's international relations.

Section 7 (i) will permit the State to be bound by the British-Irish Agreement.

Section 7 (ii) will allow the institutions established under the Agreement, particularly the North-South Ministerial Council and implementation bodies, to function.

Section 7 (iii) provides the Government with the power to make a declaration that the Agreement has come into effect. The changes in Articles 2 and 3 and the addition of a new Section 8 to Article 29 can then be made. The text of the new wordings for Articles 2 and 3 will be set out here.

Section 7 (iv) is the legal mechanism provided to move the new Articles 2 and 3 from their transitory position in Article 29 to replace the current Articles 2 and 3 if the Government declares that the Agreement has come into force.

Section 7 (v) provides that, if the Agreement does not enter into force, the amendments of Articles 2 and 3 will cease to have effect after 12 months. The Government can extend this 12 months by law, if it so desires.

Section 8 of Article 29 will permit the State to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction in accordance with the generally recognised principles of international law.