Trojan Horses and Constitutional Identity
In Costello v Ireland the Irish Supreme Court upheld a constitutional challenge by a Green Party MP to the Government’s proposed ratification of the CETA. By a majority of 4:3, the Court held that ratification would breach Irish juridical sovereignty. Beyond CETA, the greater significance of Costello may lie in its endorsement of constitutional identity as a doctrinal device that controls Ireland’s domestic legal engagement with its international law obligations. The new status accorded to constitutional identity, however, may provide future Irish courts with the doctrinal tools to recalibrate the relationship between the Irish and EU legal orders.
