While Article 45 of Irish constitution says that the Directives ‘shall not be cognizable by any court’, the Indian constitution says that they ‘shall not be enforceable by any court’. The result is that so far as the Irish constitution is concerned, the directive provisions of the constitution are a closed chapter. But the Indian courts, although they cannot legally enforce the Directives, they are not debarred from tasking cognizance of the Directives for other purposes, e.g. for interpreting laws made by the legislature.
Articles 37 of the Chapter on Directive Principle of the State Policy explains the legal status of the principles. Accordingly, these principles are i) fundamental in the governance of the country and ii) the state is duty bound to apply these principles in making laws. Article 31C further provides no law giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing all or any of the principles laid down in Part IV shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by Article 14 (equality before law) or Article 19 (protection of freedom rights).
