16 Jul 2010
With regard to my previous post about he possibility of the President referring the Civil Partnership Bill to the Supreme Court to test it's constitutionality, I decided to get my Lois Lane on and do some digging. I spoke to a number of people who are well placed to know what the lay of the land is.
While none of my sources claim to know the President's mind, the general consensus is that the rumour has some credibility, and may not necessarily be a bad thing.
The President has 7 days after receiving the bill to sign it, or refer it to the court, after having first convened and consulted with the Council Of State. It is thought that Mary got the bill on Wednesday, and she did not sign it immediately. However, as of time of writing (Friday afternoon) my mole in the Seanad tells me she has not convened the Council of State - though she still has time.
Even if she does convene the council, she may simply decide to sign the bill after consulting with them, but if she does refer the bill, the court has 60 days to make a decision - still well within the expected timeframe for Civil Partnerships to start in Dec/Jan.
Two of the people I spoke to believe that the President's concern - if indeed she has one - is most likely with the cohabitation part of the bill with regard to heterosexual couples, rather than with the civil partnership for gays section.
So, if the President does refer the bill to the court, is this necessarily a bad a thing? No.
It is well known that the right-wing are preparing to challenge the bill anyway, and are raising the money necessary to do so. If the bill were referred, and the court found that it is constitutional, this would have the effect of bullet-proofing the bill from a legal challenge, and do so before the anti-gay nuts have a chance to gather their greasy coppers together to mount a challenge.
Anyway, as I said, Mary only has a few days left to sign the bill or refer it to the court, so we won't have long to wait to see what happens.
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