The Foundations of Irish Extra-Territorial Legislation

In 1927 the Permanent Court of International Justice confirmed the important principle that all sovereign states possess the power to legislate with extra-territorial effect. The principle of territorial sovereignty, the ability of a state to claim jurisdiction over matters within its own frontiers, had long been an important aspect of public international law. The decision of the court in the celebrated Lotus case now ruled on the troublesome question as to whether a state could impose its authority in relation to matters occurring outside the bounds of its own frontiers. Consequently, this case has long held a prominent place in textbooks on public international law. Yet, in spite of such notoriety, the Lotus case did not actually provide a final and undisputed clarification as to the ability of all contemporary states to legislate with extra-territorial effect. There remained self-governing states in the 1920s whose powers in this area remained open to dispute even after the decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Ireland or, as it was as then termed, the Irish Free State, was among those states who found themselves in this unenviable position. The difficulty was that the Lotus decision specifically applied to sovereign states. In 1927 it could not be taken for granted that the Irish Free State enjoyed this status.