The Supreme Court has set aside High Court declarations that the State was constitutionally obliged to publish Irish versions of Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments simultaneously with English versions. It instead declared that court rules, including amendments, forms and indices, must be provided in Irish to solicitor Pól Ó Murchú as soon as practicable after publication in English.
The judgment, delivered by Macken J. on 6 May 2010, arose from Ó Murchú’s claim that the lack of Irish legal materials disadvantaged him and clients who wished to conduct legal affairs in Irish. He said he had sometimes arranged and paid for translations of court forms himself, causing delay and uncertainty about whether they would be accepted.
The High Court had declared that Irish versions of Acts and statutory instruments, including court rules, should be made available on terms no less advantageous than English versions, including simultaneously. It made no order of mandamus. The State appealed. Ó Murchú did not cross-appeal and told the Supreme Court he sought to uphold the declarations, not obtain mandamus.
The Supreme Court held that Article 25.4.4 of the Constitution requires an official translation of an Act where the President signs the Bill in only one official language, but sets no simultaneous publication deadline. The judgment said translations must be provided within a reasonable period, or as soon as practicable. It also found that Article 8 did not make simultaneous translation obligatory, and that section 7 of the Official Languages Act 2003 provided for Acts to be printed and published in both official languages simultaneously.
The Court found no general constitutional duty to translate all statutory instruments, either simultaneously or otherwise. It noted that a person may, in a particular case, be entitled to a specific instrument in Irish where its absence impedes that person’s ability to use Irish in court proceedings.
For court rules, the Court distinguished Ó Murchú’s position as a solicitor serving clients who wished to conduct legal affairs in Irish from a member of the general public. It found that the absence of rules, forms and related materials in Irish impeded his work and affected access to court procedures and legal advice. The declaration was limited to providing those materials to him in his capacity as a solicitor, as soon as practicable after their English publication. The judgment said no further order was necessary on the assumption that the State would remedy the position within a reasonable period.