The Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says a new law in relation to the presumption of death of a missing person will come into force from November 1st.

He has signed a commencement order for the Civil Law (Presumption of Death) Act 2019.

Under this new legislation, a presumption of death order can be made by a court - where the court is satisfied that the circumstances of a person having gone missing indicate that their death is either virtually certain, or highly probable.

A presumption of death order has the same effect in law, in broad terms, as the registration of a death.

In determining whether a presumption of death can be made, the court would have to take into account all the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and absence of the missing person.

This includes the time, location and circumstances of the disappearance.

The presence, or absence, of a motive for the missing person to remain alive, but to disappear, would also have to be considered.

Speaking on Tuesday, Minister Flanagan said: "This legislation will, I hope, offer some relief and certainty to many families in circumstances where, up to this point, no presumption of death could be made legally.

"Great credit is due to Senators Colm Burke, Marie Louise O'Donnell and Lynne Ruane for bringing forward this important new law and I sincerely thank them for their outstanding work".

The bill was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins back in July.