Constitution (Verification of Petition) Act, 1944
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —Every signature of a member of DÃ¡il 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 DÃ¡il Eireann, or the Clerk-Assistant of DÃ¡il 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 DÃ¡il Eireann.
______________________
Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)
of DÃ¡il 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 DÃ¡il Eireann.
______________________
Clerk (or Clerk-Assistant)
of DÃ¡il 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 GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na 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 DÃ¡il Eireann.
______________________
Justice of the District Court (or Commissioner for Oaths or_______ of the GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na).”
num: 2
paragraphs: —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 GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na 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 GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na).”
num: 3
paragraphs: —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 DÃ¡il Eireann or of Seanad Eireann (as the case may be).
num: 4
paragraphs: —(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 DÃ¡il 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 DÃ¡il 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.
num: 5
paragraphs: —This Act may be cited as the Constitution (Verification of Petition) Act, 1944.