The ‘Provisional Period’ - Law and the Birth of the Irish Free State, 1921-1922

This article analyses key legal issues connected to the secession of the south and west of the island of Ireland from the United Kingdom in 1922. It examines the most important legal issues that dominated the year of transition, known as the “provisional period”, that began on 6 December 1921 with the signing of the document popularly known as the “Anglo Irish Treaty” and concluded on 6 December 1922 with the formal birth of the Irish Free State. The analysis includes British legislation regulating the handover of power and the position of Crown courts operating on the territory of the future Irish Free State. It also examines the fate of the revolutionary legislation and court system established in Ireland during the preceding years of conflict. This work considers the drafting of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State which required difficult negotiations with the British government. It also outlines competing claims for executive authority in 1922. In particular, it examines the serious challenges facing the provisional government during the year of transition which often lacked adequate legal powers to tackle them. These challenges became acute in a period of crisis that witnessed the outbreak of Civil War and other challenges to public order.