Constitution (Verification of Petition) Act, 1944

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Number 8 of 1944.

CONSTITUTION (VERIFICATION OF PETITION) ACT, 1944.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 8 of 1944.

CONSTITUTION (VERIFICATION OF PETITION) ACT, 1944.

AN ACT TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER IN WHICH SIGNATURES TO A PETITION PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT UNDER ARTICLE 27 OF THE CONSTITUTION SHALL BE VERIFIED. [20th March, 1944.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

Verification of signatures of members of Dáil Eireann.

1.—Every signature of a member of Dáil Eireann to a petition presented to the President under Article 27 of the Constitution shall be verified either—

(a) by a certificate, in whichever of the following forms is appropriate, signed by the Clerk of Dáil Eireann, or the Clerk-Assistant of Dáil Eireann and written on the petition beside or immediately below the signature or signatures to which it relates, that is to say:—

(i) where the certificate relates to one signature only:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above) signature is the signature of A. B., a member of Dáil Eireann.

______________________

Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)

of Dáil Eireann.”

(ii) where the certificate relates to two or more signatures:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above)_____________ signatures are the respective signatures of A. B., C. D., E. F., etc. each of whom is a member of Dáil Eireann.

______________________

Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)

of Dáil Eireann.”

or

(b) by a certificate in the following form signed by a Justice of the District Court, a Commissioner for Oaths, or an officer of the Gárda Síochána not below the rank of Superintendent, and written on the petition beside or immediately below the signature to which it relates, that is to say:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above) signature is the signature of A. B., who is personally known to me and is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a member of Dáil Eireann.

______________________

Justice of the District Court (or Commissioner for Oaths or_______ of the Gárda Síochána).”

Verification of signatures of members of Seanad Eireann.

2.—Every signature of a member of Seanad Eireann to a petition presented to the President under Article 27 of the Constitution shall be verified either—

(a) by a certificate, in whichever of the following forms is appropriate, signed by the Clerk of Seanad Eireann, or the Clerk-Assistant of Seanad Eireann, and written on the petition beside or immediately below the signature or signatures to which it relates, that is to say:—

(i) where the certificate relates to one signature only:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above) signature is the signature of A.B., a member of Seanad Eireann.

______________________

Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)

of Seanad Eireann.”

(ii) where the certificate relates to two or more signatures:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above) ___________ signatures are the respective signatures of A. B., C. D., E. F., etc. each of whom is a member of Seanad Eireann.

______________________

Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)

of Seanad Eireann.”

or

(b) by a certificate in the following form signed by a Justice of the District Court, a Commissioner for Oaths, or an officer of the Gárda Síochána not below the rank of Superintendent, and written on the petition beside or immediately below the signature to which it relates, that is to say:—

“I hereby certify that the adjoining (or above) signature is the signature of A. B., who is personally known to me and is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a member of Seanad Eireann

______________________

Justice of the District Court (or Commissioner for Oaths or_______ of the Gárda Síochána).”

Acceptance of verification as sufficient evidence.

3.—Whenever a petition is presented to the President under Article 27 of the Constitution, it shall be lawful for the President to accept the verification of a signature thereto in accordance with whichever of the foregoing sections is applicable as sufficient evidence that such signature is the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be and that such person is a member of Dáil Eireann or of Seanad Eireann (as the case may be).

Offences and penalties.

4.—(1) Every person who does any of the following things shall be guilty of a corrupt practice within the meaning of Part I of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 (No. 38 of 1923), that is to say:—

(a) by signing a petition presented to the President under Article 27 of the Constitution falsely represents himself to be a member of Dáil Eireann or of Seanad Eireann, or

(b) affixes to any such petition a signature purporting to be the signature of a person other than himself, or

(c) makes, in a certificate affixed to any such petition, in pursuance of this Act, a statement which is to his knowledge false or misleading, or

(d) does, in relation to the signing of any petition, anything which, if done in relation to voting at an election of a member of Dáil Eireann, would be either bribery as defined in the said Part I of the said Act or undue influence as so defined.

(2) In the foregoing sub-section of this section the expression “petition presented to the President under Article 27 of the Constitution” shall be construed and have effect as including a document intended to be or prepared with a view to its being presented to the President as a petition under the said Article (whether such document is or is not subsequently so presented), and accordingly, if any person does, in relation to or in connection with any such document, any act which, if done in relation to or in connection with a petition presented as aforesaid, would render him guilty (by virtue of the said foregoing sub-section) of a corrupt practice within the meaning of Part I of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 (No. 38 of 1923), such person shall be guilty of a corrupt practice within the meaning aforesaid.

(3) Section 6 (except sub-section (2) thereof) of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 (No. 38 of 1923), shall apply and have effect in relation to a person guilty of an offence which is by virtue of this section a corrupt practice within the meaning of that Act in like manner as it applies and has effect in relation to a person guilty of an offence which is a corrupt practice by virtue of section 1 of the said Act.

Short title.

5.—This Act may be cited as the Constitution (Verification of Petition) Act, 1944.