No. 283 NAI DFA Secretary's Files P12/14 iii(a
Dublin, 31 January 1947
'That is the principle which we are standing by. It was recognized by the Dáil in 1926 on the motion of Deputy Cosgrave himself. We stand by that principle. We think it is a right principle and that the Dáil were right in standing by that principle. It is the only right principle ....'.
'Every international agreement to which the State becomes a party shall be laid before Dáil Éireann.'
To this fundamental rule the only exceptions are 'agreements or conventions of a technical and administrative character' (Article 29.5.3°). Clearly, an international defence agreement, commonly called an alliance, could not be considered to rank among the classes of agreements excepted from the general rule. Since3 an agreement, if it were ever to be made by the Government, would probably involve a charge on public funds and, in that case, would not alone have to be laid before Dáil Éireann, but would not bind the State in constitutional law without the express approval of the Dáil (Article 29.5.2°).
The Royal Irish Academy's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series has published an eBook of confidential correspondence on the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.
The international network of Editors of Diplomatic Documents was founded in 1988. Delegations from different parts of the world met for the first time in London in 1989.
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