European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003: Five Years On

European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003: Five Years On Saturday 8th November 2008 PRESIDENTS’ HALL, LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND, BLACKHALL PLACE, DUBLIN 7 The European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 has had a tremendous impact on Irish law both in terms of the practical implications of its inception and its potential to shape legislative developments in Ireland. This Conference seeks to examine the impact, implications and potential of the Convention in Irish law five years after its introduction into the Irish legal system. MORNING SESSION TIME EVENT CONFIRMED SPEAKERS TOPIC 9.15 Opening Ceremony Mr. John Shaw Introduction President of the Law Society of Ireland Dr. Maurice Manning President of Irish Human Rights Commission 9.30 – 10.45 Plenary Session Theme: Overview of the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 on Irish Law Chair of Session Mr. Michael Kealey Human Rights Committee 9.30 – 9.50 Speaker 1 Mr. Donncha O’Connell Overview and Assessment of the European NUI Galway Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 9.50 – 10.10 Speaker 2 Ms. Justice Finlay Geoghegan The use of the European Convention on Judge of the High Court Human Rights in Irish Courts 10.10 – 10.30 Speaker 3 Ms. Karen Quinlivan The use of the European Convention on Barrister-at-Law Human Rights in the courts in Northern Ireland 10.30 – 10.45 Questions Mr. John Shaw, President, Law Society of Ireland is a partner Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights established by in the firm of J.A. Shaw & Co. Solicitors based in Mullingar. He the European Commission, as a Council of Europe expert and was educated in UCD and qualified as a solicitor in 1989. He is participation in several judicial training programmes in Croatia, the incoming President of the Law Society and is due to take Georgia and Azerbaijan. office in November 2008. He is also a member of the Property Registration Authority. Ms. Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan has been a judge of the High Court since 2002. Prior to this she was a Senior Counsel in Dr. Maurice Manning, President, Irish Human Rights practice at the Bar where she appeared in many equality cases Commission was first appointed to this position in 2002 and before the Irish Courts and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, reappointed in 2007 for a further five year term. An academic including the Article 26 Reference on the Employment Equality by background, Dr Manning previously lectured in politics in Bill 1996 and the Equal Status Bill 1997. She is a former University College Dublin and has been a visiting professor at member of the Law Reform Commission and the Constitution the University of Paris (Vincennes) and the University of West Review Group. She is a former chairperson of the Permanent Florida. He is a member of the Senate of the National University Delegation of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of of Ireland and of the Governing Authority of University College the European Communities (CCBE) to the European Courts in Dublin and of the European University Institute at Florence. Dr Luxembourg. Manning has written several books on modern Irish politics. He was a member of the Oireachtas for twenty-one years, serving Ms. Karen Quinlivan, Barrister-At-Law, Northern Ireland in both the Dáil and the Seanad. He has been a member of the specialises in public law with a particular focus on human New Ireland Forum and the British Inter Parliamentary Body. rights cases as well as criminal defence work. She represented He has served as both Leader of the Seanad and Leader of the some of the families in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry which is Opposition in that House. due to report this year. She has represented Applicants before the European Court of Human Rights in a number of cases, Mr. Donncha O’Connell, NUI Galway is a barrister and was including Jordan v United Kingdom in which the Court found Dean of the Faculty of Law in NUI Galway from 2005 to 2008. a breach of the Government’s Article 2 obligations. Since He teaches Constitutional Law and European Human Rights incorporation of the Convention into domestic law she has on under-graduate programmes and Processes of Law Reform been involved in a number of high profile human rights cases, and Principles of Equality Law on the LL.M in Public Law. He including a challenge on behalf of the pupils of Holy Cross is the Senior Irish Member of FRALEX, the legal expert group Girls’ School to the conduct of police during the Holy Cross that advises the EU Fundamental Rights Agency based in protest and a challenge by detainees to the practice of bugging Vienna. Previous appointments include employment as the solicitors’ consultations with their clients. The latter case is due first full-time Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, to be heard by the House of Lords later this year. participation as the Irish member of the EU Network of MIDDLE SESSION TIME EVENT CONFIRMED SPEAKERS TOPIC 10.45 – 11.15 Coffee Break 11.15 – 1.00 Session 1 Chair: Judge Tom O’Donnell Judge of the District Court Right to a Fair Trial and Effective Remedies: Ms. Noeline Blackwell The impact of the ECHRA on the right to a FLAC fair trial and the right to an effective remedy Mr. Conor Power Barrister-at-Law 11.15 – 1.00 Session 2 Chair: Mr. Conleth Bradley SC Immigration Law: Irish Human Rights Commission The impact of the ECHRA on immigration law Ms. Hilkka Becker in Ireland Immigrant Council of Ireland Dr. Siobhán Mullally University College Cork 11.15 – 1.00 Session 3 Chair: Ms. Claire Loftus Criminal Law: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions The impact of the ECHRA on criminal law Mr. Michael O’Higgins in Ireland Senior Counsel Mr. Dara Robinson Garrett Sheehan & Partners 11.15 – 1.00 Session 4 Chair: Ms. Sinéad Kearney Family Law and Privacy: BCM Hanby Wallace The impact of the ECHRA on family law Dr. Ursula Kilkelly and privacy in Ireland University College Cork Ms. Rosemary Horgan Ronan Daly Jermyn Solicitors 11.15 – 1.00 Session 5 Chair: Mr. James MacGuill Amicus Curiae: MacGuill & Co. Solicitors The use of amicus curiae in proceedings Mr. Des Hogan Irish Human Rights Commission Ms. Eilis Barry BL Equality Authority 1.00 – 2.00 Lunch n There are 5 parallel sessions that will be run simultaneously. Each participant is free to choose his/ her favourite working group. Please indicate on the registration form which session you would like to attend in order to balance participation. n The parallel sessions will take place in allocated rooms in the Law Society of Ireland. Rooms will be assigned to each parallel session and you will be informed of the location of your chosen session on the day of the Conference. The Conference pack will contain a floor plan of the location of these rooms. n We would appreciate it if you would arrive in your designated room a few minutes early to help the session run on time. Refreshments will be served at the beginning of each session in the allocated room. MIDDLE SESSION (CONTINUED ) Judge Tom O’Donnell qualified as a solicitor in 1976. He had Mr. Michael O’Higgins SC is a criminal lawyer. He was called a general practice in criminal and family law and was on the to the bar in 1988 and he became a Senior Counsel in the year legal aid panel for 11 years. He was appointed as a District 2000. Prior to becoming a barrister he worked as a journalist. Judge in 1998 and to the District Court Rules Committee in He is chairman of the Irish Criminal Bar Association. 2003. He was awarded a Diploma on the European Convention of Human Rights from UCD in 2004 and a Masters Degree on Mr. Dara Robinson, Solicitor, Dublin qualified as a solicitor in International Human Rights Law from NUIG in 2004. In 2007, London in 1988, joining Garrett Sheehan & Partners in 1992. His he was awarded a Diploma on International Human Rights practice covers the entire spectrum of criminal defence work. and Criminal Procedure from the IBA. He is the author of The He is Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society Constitution, the ECHR Act 2003 and the District Court: A and a member of the European Criminal Bar Association. Personal View-from a Judicial Perspective” (2007) 1 JSIJ 137. Ms. Sinéad Kearney, BCM Hanby Wallace, Dublin qualified as Ms. Noeline Blackwell, Director General, Free Legal Advice a solicitor in 1989 and since that time has worked extensively Centre is a lawyer specialising in refugee law. She is the former in the health care area. She joined BCM Hanby Wallace as a Chairperson of both the International Human Rights Trust and partner in charge of the Health Services Department in 2003. the Irish Section of Amnesty International. She has extensive experience in advising bodies involved in health services and Health Boards, in particular the area of Mr. Conor Power BL is a practising barrister. His areas of Child Care Law. Sinead is Chairperson of the Law Society’s practise include human rights law, public law, employment Family Law Committee and is a member of the Dublin Solicitor’s law, equality law, asylum and immigration law. He has lectured Bar Association Family Law Committee. She has lectured on the on family and child law and is the editor of the Family Law Law Society’s Continuing Legal Education Programme and is a Legislation Service (Round hall Press.) Conor is a long-standing lecturer with the Law Society Law School.

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