Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018

Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018
Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter
Location  Ireland
Date 26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)

The Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018 (bill no. 87 of 2018) is a proposed amendment to the constitution of Ireland which will remove the offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter from the Constitution. An amendment to the constitution must be proposed in Dáil Éireann, passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, and approved in a referendum.

The bill was introduced to the Oireachtas on 13 July 2018 by the Fine Gael minority coalition government. A referendum will be held on 26 October, on the same date as the presidential election.[1] A second referendum on whether to remove an article referring to women’s place in the home, originally scheduled for the same date, was postponed in September 2018 until 2019.[2]

Background

The publication or utterance of blasphemous matter is an offence specified by the Constitution of Ireland as an exception to general guarantee of the right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions. In Corway v Independent Newspapers (1999), the Supreme Court held that the common law crime of blasphemous libel related to an established church and could not have survived the enactment of the Constitution. They also held that it was impossible to say what the offence of blasphemy consisted of.[3]

The offence of publishing or uttering blasphemous matter was first defined in Irish law in the Defamation Act 2009. Someone is guilty of the offence if they publish or utter "matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion", and they intend, "by the publication or utterance of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage". There is a broad defence where "a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates".[4] To date, there has not been a public prosecution for the offence of blasphemy in the Irish state.

The Constitutional Convention held a session in November 2013, where they proposed replacing the offence of blasphemy in the Constitution with a prohibition on the incitement of religious hatred.

In June 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality Charles Flanagan announced that the government would hold a referendum to simply remove the reference to the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution.[5]

Proposed change to the Constitution

The Thirty-seventh Amendment Bill proposes to amend the final sentence of paragraph i of subsection 1º of Article 40.6 by substituting "blasphemous, seditious," for "seditious".[6][7]

Current text[7]

The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.

Proposed changes to text

The publication or utterance of seditious or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.

Proposed subsequent legislation

If the referendum is passed, the Department of Justice and Equality's draft general scheme for subsequent legislation proposes that the Government will then introduce a formal Bill to repeal sections 36 and 37 of the Defamation Act 2009, which deal with the 'Publication or utterance of blasphemous matter' and the 'Seizure of copies of blasphemous statements' respectively,[8][9] as well as to replace the words “indecent, obscene, or blasphemous” by “indecent or obscene” in the Censorship of Films Act 1923 as amended by the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008, and in the Censorship of Films (Amendment) Act 1925.[9]

Passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas

The Bill passed all stage in the Dáil on 18 September and all stages of the Seanad on 20 September.[10] Amendments by Solidarity to remove other religious references from the Constitution were ruled out of order.[11][12] It was opposed in the Seanad by Rónán Mullen.[13]

Campaign

A Referendum Commission to provide information to the public on the proposed amendment was established on 18 July 2018.[14] Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy signed the electoral order for the referendum on 21 September, setting the polling date as 26 October.[15][16]

Atheist Ireland launched a campaign in favour of a Yes vote on 30 September.[17] The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference indicated that it would not oppose the referendum, describing the provision as largely obsolete.[18]

Opinion polling

Date(s)
conducted		 Polling organisation/client Sample size Yes No Undecided Lead
17 September 2018Amárach/Claire Byrne Live poll for TheJournal.ie[19]over 1,00054%17%29%37%

References

  1. ↑ Bardon, Sarah (23 June 2018). "President tells Government of intention to seek second term". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  2. ↑ McMorrow, Conor (5 September 2018). "Referendum on place of women in the home deferred". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Corway v Independent Newspapers [1999] IESC 5
  4. ↑ "Defamation Act 2009, Section 36". Irish Statute Book. Office of the Attorney General. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Minister Flanagan announces Government approval for the holding of a Referendum on the removal of the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution". 12 June 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 Constitution of Ireland (PDF). Department of the Taoiseach. February 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2018. (page 152) FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - PERSONAL RIGHTS - ARTICLE 40 ...
    {page 160) 6 1° The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights, subject to public order and morality: –

    i The right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions.

    The education of public opinion being, however, a matter of such grave import to the common good, the State shall endeavour to ensure that organs of public opinion, such as the radio, the press, the cinema, while preserving their rightful liberty of expression, including criticism of Government policy, shall not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the State.

    The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.
  8. ↑ "Explainer: What is the upcoming blasphemy referendum about?". TheJournal.ie. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Draft of General Scheme of the Repeal of Offence of Publication or Utterance of Blasphemous Matter Act 2018" (PDF). Department of Justice and Equality. 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018 (Bill 87 of 2018)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages". Houses of the Oireachtas. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018: Committee Amendments" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018: Second Stage". Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "S.I. No. 255/2018 - Referendum Commission (Establishment) (No. 2) Order 2018". Irish Statute Book. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Blasphemy referendum to go ahead on October 26th as Minister signs order". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Thirty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of offence of publication or utterance of blasphemous matter) Bill 2018". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Atheist Ireland: Referendum on blasphemy about freedom of speech". Irish Examiner. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  18. ↑ McNeice, Stephen (3 October 2018). "Irish bishops say constitutional article on blasphemy is 'largely obsolete'". Newstalk. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "A significant number of people don't know how they're going to vote in the blasphemy referendum". TheJournal.ie. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
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