Irish Free State

Waikato Times, Volume 117, Issue 19596, 7 June 1935, Page 5

Irish Free State

A FETTER REMOVED.

IMPORTANT COURT JUDGMENT,

THE PASSING OF LEGISLATION.

Unitea Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright. (Received June 7, 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, June 6. The effect of the Statute of Westminster was to remove the fetter upon the Irish Free State Legislature by reason of the Colonial Laws Validity Act. That Legislature can now pass acts repugnant to the Imperial Act. , The foregoing is he kernel of an important Privy Council judgment on appeal in relation to the Irish Free State fisher rights held by Robert Moore under grants of 1622. The Irish Free State Supreme Court held that the grants were null and void. The Judicial Committee granted leave to appeal. Shbrtly afterwards the Irish Parliament passed the Constitution (Amendment No. 22) Act, 1033, which Moore petitioned to have declared no bar to the maintenance of the original appeal. Lord Sankey declared that before passing (lie Statute of Westminster it was not competent for the Irish Free State Parliament to pass an Act abrogating (lie 1021 treaty, because the Colonial Laws Validity Act forbade Dominion legislation repugnant to the Imperial Act. Under the Statute of Westminster the Irish Free Stale could pass, and had passed, a repugnant Act. The Statute gave them power, of which they availed themselves to abrogate the treaty. Prerogatives of King. Dealing with the contention that Hi® amendment was invalid because it affected the prerogatives of the King in a matter outside his dominion and outside the competence of the Irish Free Slate Parliament, Lord - Sankey said it was enough here to say that whatever might l,u Hie position of the King’s prerogative, if it were left as a matter of common law, it is here in Ibis particular respect and in this particular enactment made a matter of Parliamentary legislation, so that the prerogative is pro lem merged in the Statute, and the Statute gives powers of amendment and altering the statutory prerogative. The petition was therefore dismissed.