Constitution
The state operates under the Constitution of Ireland (Irish: Bunreacht na hÉireann) which was adopted in 1937 by means of a plebiscite. The constitution falls within the liberal democratic tradition. It defines the organs of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. The Constitution can only be amended by means of a referendum. Important constitutional referendums have concerned issues such as abortion, the status of the Catholic Church, divorce, and the European Union.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of The Republic Of Ireland
Famous quotes containing the word constitution:
“Your Constitution is all sail and no anchor.”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
“In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic ties; adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family affections; keeping inseparable and cherishing with the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities, our state, our hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a state.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)