The Supreme Court has declared sections 19(2) and 19(3) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 invalid, finding that the statutory process for revoking a certificate of naturalisation lacked required safeguards. The ruling concerns the procedure for revocation, not the underlying power or grounds for it.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Dunne on 10 February 2021, followed the Court’s principal judgment of 14 October 2020. That earlier ruling found that the process did not provide the high standards of natural justice required, including an impartial and independent decision-maker.
The Court considered what parts of section 19 should be struck down. The Minister for Justice argued that the power to revoke under subsection (1), provisions on the consequences and publication of revocation in subsections (5) and (6), and a separate provision concerning certain children in subsection (4) could remain. The appellant argued that the revocation provisions, apart from subsection (4), should be invalidated. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, appearing as amicus curiae, also opposed leaving the power without statutory procedural safeguards.
Justice Dunne concluded that subsections (2) and (3), which contained the safeguards, had to be declared invalid. She said subsection (2) could not be severed in part without undermining the legislative intent. But striking down subsection (1) would go further than necessary: the Court had not found the substantive power or its grounds unconstitutional. Subsections (5) and (6), dealing with the consequences of revocation and publication of notice, could also remain. Subsection (4), a standalone deeming provision concerning certain children named on certificates under the 1935 Act, was unaffected.
The Court did not grant an order of prohibition. It held that a process complying with fair procedures must be in place before any further step can be taken to revoke the appellant’s certificate. It also said the Minister could not establish an administrative scheme to use the surviving provisions without statutory authority. The judgment left it to the Oireachtas to determine how a replacement process should be authorised.