The Supreme Court, in a significant judgment, has ruled that the law governing the procedure under which Irish citizenship can be revoked is unconstitutional. The five-judge court ruled the procedure to revoke citizenship set out under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, specifically section 19 of the Act, is unconstitutional on natural justice grounds. The October 2018 notice served by the Minister on Mr Damache outlined intent to revoke his Irish citizenship on the basis of having shown disloyalty to the State. The appeal centred on the process around citizenship revocation, procedural safeguards and consequences of loss of citizenship on other rights. It argued a high degree of procedural safeguards are required around the Ministerial decision-making to revoke Irish citizenship, which could be achieved either by judicial remedy or establishment of a sufficiently independent court or tribunal.

Source: The Irish Times October 14, 2020 11:48 UTC