Referendum on the Twenty-First Amendment of the Constitution(No. 2) Bill 2001 (Abolition of the Death Penalty)

A referendum on a proposal to delete all references to the death penalty from the Constitution was held on 7 June 2001.

Four separate provisions of the Constitution were amended, the combined effect of which was to delete all remaining references to the death penalty in the Constitution and to prevent its re-introduction under any circumstances, even where there is a state of emergency. The Oireachtas is now prohibited from enacting any law providing for the imposition of the death penalty.

The proposal was approved by the people.

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The Report

You can read the Referendum Commission’s report online or download a PDF copy of the report.