The Irish Statute Book: A Guide to Irish Legislation

The Irish Statute Book: A Guide to Irish Legislation

It is widely accepted that the Irish Statute Book is in a terminal state of disorder. This book examines present state of the Irish Statute Book in the context of a principle which is imposed on all citizens – that is, ignorance of the law is no defence, and questions whether the State and our legal system's reliance on that principle will become unsustainable if the accessibility of the statute book is not addressed.

The book looks at the various components which make up a piece of legislation, which in turn constitute the building blocks of the Irish Statute Book. It offers various ideas on how legislation, and indeed, the Irish Statute Book itself, can be improved.

This book will be of real interest to practising barristers and solicitors who consult the statute book on a regular basis, and it will also be of direct relevance to senior civil servants, in Government Departments and in Statesponsored bodies, be they concerned with drafting legislation, shaping policy, and interpreting or understanding legislation. The book will also serve as a valuable resource for legislative drafters and policy makers in other common law jurisdictions. First published in hardback in 2007.

About the authors

Dr Brian Hunt, B.A., M.Litt., Ph.D, B.L, is the head of public affairs at Mason Hayes+Curran. Brian was formerly the legal adviser to a leading political party and he spent a number of years working in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Irish Government. He has extensive experience in the drafting of legislation across a wide spectrum of topics. He has published several articles on legislation and he has also spoken on the topic of legislation to conferences at home and abroad.

Francis Bennion, consultant editor is an author, constitutional lawyer and draftsman of state constitutions. A former UK Parliamentary Counsel and member of the Oxford University Law Faculty, he is currently a Research Associate of the Oxford University Centre for Socio-Legal Studies