Institute for Advanced Studies Act , 1940

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Education;

the expression “the Institute” means the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies established by this Act;

the expression “Constituent School” means a school which forms part of the Institute and is established under this Act by an establishment order;

the expression “the Council” means the Council of the Institute;

the word “school” when used in the expression “Constituent School” or in relation to Constituent Schools generally includes any body or organisation adapted and suitable for the furtherance of advanced study and the conduct of research in a specialised branch of knowledge.

2 Establishment of the Institute.

2.—(1) There is hereby established an institute of higher learning which shall be styled and known as Institiúid Ard-Léighinn Bhaile Átha Cliath or (in English) the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Institute shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold and dispose of land.

(3) The seat of the Institute shall be in the County Borough of Dublin.

3 Functions of the Institute.

3.—(1) The functions of the Institute shall be to provide facilities for the furtherance of advanced study and the conduct of research in specialised branches of knowledge and for the publication of the results of advanced study and research whether carried on under the auspices of the Institute or otherwise.

(2) The facilities mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section shall be provided through and by means of Constituent Schools for different specialised branches of knowledge.

4 Establishment and disestablishment of Constituent Schools.

4.—(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act, the Government shall establish, either simultaneously or successively, under this Act—

(a) a Constituent School to be known as Scoil an Leighinn Cheiltigh or (in English) the School of Celtic Studies, and

(b) a Constituent School to be known as Scoil na Fisice Teoiriciúla or (in English) the School of Theoretical Physics.

(2) Whenever it appears to the Government that it is in the public interest that a Constituent School (other than the Constituent Schools mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section) should be established for the furtherance of advanced study and the conduct of research in a particular specialised branch of knowledge and each House of the Oireachtas has by resolution approved of the establishment of such Constituent School, the Government may establish under this Act a Constituent School for the purposes aforesaid.

(3) Whenever it appears to the Government that it is in the public interest that a Constituent School (other than the Constituent Schools mentioned in the first sub-section of this section) should be disestablished and each House of the Oireachtas has by resolution approved of such disestablishment, the Government shall disestablish under this Act such Constituent School.

5 The functions and duties of the Constituent Schools.

5.—(1) The functions and duties of the School of Celtic Studies shall be the promotion of Celtic studies generally, and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing—

(a) the investigation, editing, and publication of extant manuscript material in the Irish language;

(b) the grammatical, lexicographical, and philological study of Old, Middle, and Modern Irish;

(c) the phonetic investigation of existing Irish dialects and the recording of the living Irish speech;

(d) the collection and study of Irish place names;

(e) the study of Irish social history and of all branches of Irish history which require for their investigation a knowledge of the Irish language;

(f) the preparation and the recommendation to the Council for publication of works dealing with any of the subjects mentioned in any of the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section and of other works calculated to promote a more general knowledge of the Celtic languages and of the literatures of those languages and of the cultural and social background of Celtic civilisation;

(g) the training of advanced students in the methods of research in any of the said subjects;

(h) the organisation of seminars, conferences, and lectures on the Celtic languages and on the literatures of those languages and, in particular, on matters of interest to students of the Irish language and of its literature;

(i) the provision of facilities for advanced study and research in Celtic studies for university professors and lecturers on leave of absence from their academic duties;

(j) the commissioning of competent scholars, whether associated or not associated with the Institute, to undertake, either with or without remuneration, the writing or the editing of works dealing with Celtic studies;

(k) the assistance of research in Celtic studies in other countries and the exchange with such countries of advanced students in those studies;

(l) such other functions and duties in relation to Celtic studies as may from time to time be decided on by the Governing Board of the School.

(2) The functions and duties of the School of Theoretical Physics shall be—

(a) the investigation of the mathematical principles of natural philosophy and the application of those principles to the physical and chemical group of sciences and to geophysics and cosmology;

(b) the training of advanced students in methods of original research in the said group of sciences and in geophysics and cosmology;

(c) the provision of facilities for advanced study and research in theoretical physics for university professors and lecturers on leave of absence from their academic duties;

(d) the organisation of seminars, conferences, and lectures on topics related to theoretical physics which lie on the frontiers of knowledge;

(e) the preparation and the recommendation to the Council for publication of descriptions of recent accessions to knowledge in the sphere of theoretical physics and in particular descriptions of such accessions resulting from the scientific activities of the School;

(f) the commissioning of competent scholars, whether associated or not associated with the Institute, to undertake, either with or without remuneration, the writing or the editing of works dealing with theoretical physics;

(g) such other functions and duties in relation to theoretical physics as may from time to time be decided on by the Governing Board of the School.

(3) Every Constituent School, other than the School of Celtic Studies and the School of Theoretical Physics, shall have such functions and duties as shall be assigned to it by the establishment order relating to it or by an order amending that order.

6 Method of establishing and disestablishing Constituent Schools.

6.—(1) Every Constituent School shall be established by means of an Order (in this Act referred to as an establishment order) made by the Government and complying with the provisions of this Act applicable thereto.

(2) A separate establishment order shall be made in respect of each Constituent School.

(3) The Government may, after consultation with the Governing Board of a Constituent School, by order amend the establishment order establishing such school, and may, by order made after the like consultation, amend any order made under this sub-section.

(4) A Constituent School which can lawfully be disestablished under this Act shall be disestablished by means of an order (in this Act referred to as a disestablishment order) made by the Government.

(5) A disestablishment order may contain all such provisions incidental to or consequential on the disestablishment of the Constituent School to which such order relates as shall appear to the Government to be necessary or proper.

(6) Every order made by the Government under any sub-section of this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if either such House shall, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after such order is laid before it, pass a resolution annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

7 Establishment orders.

7.—Every establishment order shall contain, subject to the provisions of this Act, such provisions in relation to the regulation and conduct of the Constituent School thereby established as the Government shall think proper, and, in particular, shall provide for the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the name by which such School shall be known;

(b) the functions and duties of such School in relation to the specialised branch of knowledge in respect of which such School is established;

(c) the management of such School by a Governing Board having power to direct and control the work of the School, to frame and carry out or provide for the carrying out of schemes of study and research, and to do such other things as may be necessary for the efficient conduct and working of the School;

(d) the constitution of such Governing Board as a board consisting of—

(i) a chairman appointed by the President on the advice of the Government, and (ii) certain members similarly appointed, and

(iii) the Senior Professors of the School;

(e) the term of office and removal of the members of such Governing Board;

(f) subject to the provisions of this Act, the appointment, term of office, and removal of Senior Professors of the School;

(g) the appointment and removal of professors, visiting professors, assistants, and other academic members of the staff of such School, and the admission and dismissal of students;

(h) the appointment of a Director of such School from amongst the Senior Professors of the School and the powers, duties, and period of office of such Director;

(i) the relations of such School and the Governing Board thereof with the Institute, and with the Minister and the Government;

(j) the presentation by the Governing Board of such School of an annual report of the work of the School.

8 Appointment, etc., of the Senior Professors of a Constituent School.

8.—(1) The Senior Professors of a Constituent School shall be appointed and removed by the President on the advice of the Government.

(2) The Governing Board of a Constituent School may at any time submit to the Minister a proposal for the appointment of a named person to be a Senior Professor of that School or for the removal from office of a particular Senior Professor of the School.

(3) Every proposal submitted under the next preceding sub-section of this section to the Minister shall be brought before the Government by the Minister and shall be considered by the Government.

(4) The numbers, salaries, tenure of office and other conditions of service of the Senior Professors of a Constituent School shall be such as the Government, on the recommendation of the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, shall from time to time determine either generally or in respect of any particular Senior Professor.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the salary, tenure of office, and conditions of service at and on which a Senior Professor is appointed shall not be altered without his consent during his term of office and no Senior Professor shall be removed from his office in contravention of the terms on which he was appointed thereto.

9 The Council of the Institute.

9.—(1) The body corporate of the Institute shall consist of the Council of the Institute.

(2) The general government of the Institute and the administration of the affairs thereof shall be vested in the Council.

(3) The first Council shall consist of a chairman and four other members all of whom shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Government, and of the ex-officio members of the Council.

(4) The first Council shall be appointed as soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act and shall subsist until whichever of the following later happens and shall then cease, that is to say:—

(a) the expiration of one year from the passing of this Act, or

(b) the issue by the Taoiseach of a certificate in writing under his hand that the second Council has been duly appointed.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this section in relation to the first Council, the Council shall consist of one member (who shall be the chairman) appointed by the President on the advice of the Government, the ex-officio members of the Council, and two members from each Constituent School for the time being established.

(6) The members of the Council from a Constituent School shall be appointed by the Governing Board of such School from amongst their own members.

(7) At all times, at least one of the members of the Council from any particular Constituent School shall be a person who is a member of the Governing Board of such Constituent School by virtue of appointment and not by virtue of being a Senior Professor.

(8) Every quinquennial appointment of members of the Council shall be made and completed before the 30th day of June on which the terms of office of their predecessors expire.

10 The ex-officio members of the Council.

10.—The persons who, for the time being, occupy the following offices, namely:—

(a) President of University College, Dublin,

(b) Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and

(c) President of the Royal Irish Academy,

shall be ex-officio members of the Council, and in this Act, the expression “the ex-officio members of the Council” shall be construed accordingly.

11 Tenure of office of members of the Council.

11.—(1) Every member of the first Council (other than members thereof appointed to fill casual vacancies) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or is removed, hold office until the date appointed by section 9 of this Act for the cesser of the first Council, but shall be eligible for reappointment.

(2) Every member of the Council (other than members of the first Council and members appointed to fill casual vacancies) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or is removed, hold office either (as the case may require) from the date appointed by section 9 of this Act for the cesser of the first Council until the 30th day of June, 1945, or from the 30th day of June next after his appointment until the next following quinquennial anniversary of that date, and shall in every case be eligible for reappointment.

(3) Whenever a member of the Council appointed by the President dies, resigns, or is removed, the President, on the advice of the Government, shall appoint a person to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(4) Whenever a member of the Council appointed by the Governing Board of a Constituent School dies, resigns, or is removed, such Governing Board shall appoint from amongst their own members a person to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(5) Every person appointed to fill a casual vacancy in the membership of the Council shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or is removed, hold office for the remainder of the period for which the member whose death, resignation, or removal (as the case may be) occasioned such casual vacancy would have held office if he had not died, resigned, or been removed and shall then retire, but shall be eligible for reappointment.

(6) The provisions of this section shall not apply to ex-officio members of the Council.

12 Resignation of members of the Council.

12.—(1) Any member of the Council (other than an ex-officio member of the Council) may, at any time, resign his office as such member by letter sent—

(a) in the case of a member appointed by the President, to the Taoiseach for submission to the President,

(b) in any other case, to the Governing Board of the Constituent School which appointed him.

(2) A member of the Council who resigns under this section shall send a copy of his letter of resignation to the Council, and his resignation shall take effect as from the beginning of the first meeting of the Council held after the expiration of one month, in the case of a member appointed by the President, from the receipt by the Council from the Taoiseach of a notification that such resignation has been accepted or, in any other case, from the receipt of the said copy by the Council.

(3) A member of the Council who has resigned under this section may, at any time before such resignation takes effect under the next preceding sub-section of this section, withdraw such resignation in the like manner as such resignation was made, including the sending of a copy of such withdrawal to the Council.

13 Removal of members of the Council.

13.—(1) The President, on the advice of the Government, may at any time remove any member of the Council appointed by him.

(2) The Governing Board of a Constituent School may, at any time, with the the consent of the Minister remove any member of the Council appointed by such Governing Board.

14 Meetings and procedure of the Council.

14.—(1) The Council shall hold such and so many meetings and at such times as may be necessary for the discharge of its functions.

(2) Every question at a meeting of the Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the Council or, if he is not present, the chairman of such meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(3) The quorum for a meeting of the Council shall be a number equal to the total number of Constituent Schools for the time being in existence increased by one.

(4) The Council may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies in its membership.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Council shall regulate by standing orders or otherwise the times of and mode of summoning its meetings and the procedure to be observed and the business to be transacted at its meetings.

15 Common seal of the Institute.

15.—(1) As soon as may be after the passing of this Act, the Council shall provide and retain in their possession a common seal for the Institute.

(2) The seal of the Institute shall, when affixed to any document, be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Council or some other member thereof authorised in that behalf by the Council and the counter-signature of the Registrar or some other officer of the Institute authorised in that behalf by the Council.