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Conference on developments in Irish constitutional law
The Constitutional Studies Group recently held a very successful sold-out conference on developments in Irish constitutional law. The conference examined major developments in constitutional law in the last year, including the decisions in Dellway Investments v NAMA, Nottinghamshire CC v B, and the John Grace Fried Chicken Ltd litigation.
If you are interested in papers from the event, please contact Sinead Hennessy at sinead.hennessy@ucd.ie.
Beyond Montesquieu: Re-thinking the architecture of contemporary governance
The UCD Constitutional Studies Group recently hosted a successful international workshop on the theme of "Beyond Montesquieu: Re-thinking the architecture of contemporary governance.
The workshop attracted participants from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.A. Papers delivered at the workshop addressed issues associated with modern systems of governance, including institutional fragmentation, accountability, participatory democracy, the role of courts and the influence of supranational organisations like the European Union.
The workshop was generously funded by a "New Ideas" grant from the Irish Research Council for Hmanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) to Group member Eoin Carolan. The workshop built on Eoin's previous work on "The New Separation of Powers: A Theory for the Modern State" (OUP, 2009) which was awarded the Kevin Boyle Book Prize and was also funded by the IRCHSS.
Aart Loubert, Univerity of Amsterdam; Prof. Richard Albert, Boston College; Prof. Imelda Maher, UCD.
Prof. Richard Albert, Boston College; Prof. Josh Chafetz, Cornell Law School.
Dr. Maria Cahill, UCC; Prof. Imelda Maher, UCD.
Conference in Irish Constitutional Law developments
The Constitutional Studies Group will hold a conference on developments in Irish constitutional law on February 16th next. The conference will examine the major developments in constitutional law in the last year, including the decisions in Dellway Investments v NAMA, Nottinghamshire CC v B, and the John Grave Fried Chicken Ltd litigation.
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Group member presents at Harvard-Stanford Forum
Research by Constitutional Studies Group member Eoin Carolan was recently selected for discussion at the Harvard-Stanford Junior International Faculty Forum, which took place in Boston in November, 2011. The forum is jointly hosted by Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School and is intended by the organisers to bring together some of the world’s most innovative junior legal scholars to present their work. Eoin’s paper on “Postcards from the economic abyss – what Ireland and Iceland can teach us about Tea Parties, Big Societies and small government” was one of 11 papers selected from the several hundred submissions received.>
A draft version of the paper can be seen here:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1968682
The Irish Constitution: Past, Present and Future
The Constitutional Studies Group invites submissions for a conference on "The Irish Constitution: Past, Present and Future", which will take place in Dublin from June 28th-30th. The conference will mark the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the currrent Constitution. The event will have an international and inter-disciplinary focus so submissions are invited from all disciplines and all jurisdictions. Full details of the call for papers are available here.
Referendum Guides
Two short guides for the referenda to change the Constitution have been published by the Constitutional Studies Group at UCD. The guides are designed to provide voters with information about the background to, and the arguments for and against the proposed amendments to the Constitution.
Fiona de Londras invited to participate in the American Society of International Law’s inaugural research forum
Fiona de Londras was invited to participate in the American Society of International Law’s inaugural research forum in UCLA in November 2011. This followed an international peer review process in which over 300 proposals were received. She delivered a presentation on her ongoing work on the implications for human rights and public law of the engagement of private corporations in counter-terrorism. The work presented forms part of her next book to be published in the Cambridge Studies in Law and Society in 2013.
The Sovereign Debt Crisis and the New Boundaries of the State
In July Constitutional Studies Group member John O'Dowd recently delivered a report on the changing boundaries of the Irish state to a conference entitled "The Sovereign Debt Crisis and the New Boundaries of the State." The conference was organised by the European Public Law Organisation, on the initiative of Professor Giulio Napolitano (Roma Tre University) and hosted in The Palace, Valletta, by the Speaker of the Parliament of Malta, the Hon Michael Frendo MP. The conference examined the implications for the organisation and functions of the state in the light of the current European sovereign debt crisis and, in particular, the adjustments demanded of Greece, Ireland and Portugal under their agreements with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. An audio recording of Mr O'Dowd's presentation and the ensuing discussion is available here: http://www.parlament.mt/filebank/audio/EPLO_09-07-2011.mp3(Recording starts at 19m 30s and Mr O'Dowd's contribution at 44m 20s).
Abbeylara and the powers of Oireachtas committees: What is the 30th Amendment to the Constitution about?
School of Law, Roebuck Castle, UCD Wednesday October 19th 2011 4.30-6.00 pm
Professor Imelda Maher joins the Royal Irish Academy.
Imelda Maher, Sutherland Professor of European Law, was recently admitted as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Membership is the highest academic honour in Ireland and is awarded to those who have attained distinction in education and research. Professor Maher’s research is in the field of European economic law and governance, in particular in relation to competition law. Interdisciplinarity is a particular feature of her work. She was recently was appointed general editor of Legal Studies, the journal of the Society of Legal Scholars of the UK and Ireland.
Professor Maher joins other notable lawyers who are members of the Academy, including UCD School of Law emeritus professors, James Casey, Geoffrey Hand and Nial Osborough, as well as President Mary McAleese and former President, Mary Robinson.
Dr Fiona de Londras addresses seminar on ECHR Act
Dr Fiona de Londras recently gave a paper entitled "Using the ECHR in Irish courts: more whisper than bang?" to a seminar organised by PILA: The Public Interest Law Alliance, in which she addressed recent case law on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. Brian Kennelly, a barrister at the leading public law and human rights set Blackstone Chambers in London gave the other paper in the seminar, on "Recent developments in ECHR case law in the UK and potential relevance to Irish issues" which dealt with lessons which could be drawn from the application of the Human Rights Act 2008 in the courts in the UK. The seminar took place on 13 May in the Distillery Building, 145-151 Church St, Dublin 7. More than seventy people attended the seminar and the two papers stimulated a lively discussion of the scope and impact of the Irish and UK legislation on the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
A video of Fiona's presentation is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07AqvKt1OAY&feature=related
Her paper is available here.
Professor Colin Scott - recent keynote lectures
Colin Scott, Professor of EU Regulation in Governance and Associate Dean of the School, accepted requests to give presentations in various parts of the world during March and April.
He gave a keynote lecture in the tenth anniversary conference of the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet) of the Australian National University in Canberra, on the topic ‘Regulatory Pluralism and the Cosmopolitan Ideal’ and, in the same week gave a keynote lecture on ‘Juridification and the Governance of Regulation’ at an event marking the conclusion of the ‘Shifts in Governance’ research programme of Dutch Science Research Council (NWO) in the Hague. In the following week, he addressed the annual meeting of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) in Vienna, sharing findings of two research projects in a lecture entitled ‘Networks and Learning in Advertising Self Regulation.’ RegNet is one of the leading centres in the world for research in regulation. The NWO is the principal funder of academic research in the Netherlands. The European Advertising Standards Alliance
(EASA) is the principal body coordinating national schemes of self-regulation of advertising in the European Union and beyond.
Dr. Marie-Luce Paris awarded a grant for a Visiting Fellowship
Dr. Marie-Luce Paris awarded a grant for a Visiting Fellowship at the Australian National University Centre for European Studies.
The Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra, recently hosted Dr. Marie-Luce Paris as a Visiting Research Fellow. Dr. Paris was invited to contribute to the different research activities of the Centre, in collaboration with the ANU College of Law. In particular, she gave a public lecture on ‘The New Constitutional Review in France: How Does the French Constitution Finally Speak to its people – Or Does it?’ co-organized by the ANUCES and the Centre for International and Public Law
Book Prize for Dr Eoin Carolan
The inaugural Kevin Boyle Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship has been awarded to UCD School of Law lecturer Eoin Carolan for his book The New Separation of Powers: A Theory for the Modern State (Oxford University Press, 2009).
The prize is awarded by the Irish Association of Law Teachers for the best legal publication by an Irish-based author for the previous two years. The book proposes a new understanding of the separation of powers theory which, it is argued, would provide higher standards of accountability and decision-making in government.
The book was funded in part by the IRCHSS and UCD’s Seed Funding Scheme and has been described as “thought-provoking and based on consummate scholarship” (Modern Law Review) and as “a book that deserves to be widely read and widely debated” which “has made a lasting contribution to the discipline” (Public Law).
April:
The Constitutional Studies Group recently organised an inter-disciplinary seminar for lawyers, research scientists and medical professionals on the topic of “The Embryo and Irish Law: An Overview” in NUI Merrion. The event was attended by experts from these disciplines, who were invited to discuss how the law in Ireland impacts on research and medical treatments, and how the law might be developed in the future.
Speakers at the event included Professor Gerry Whyte of Trinity Colege who discussed the ethical implications of embryonic stem cell research, IngeClissman SC who considered the protection offered by Irish law and the Constituton to embryos, and Hilary Coveney of Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors who examined the law on consent and its implications for patients, parents and health professionals.
These presentations were followed by extensive discussions between the speakers and those who attended the event.
For further information on the event or access to the papers presented on the evening, please contact Sinead Hennessy at sinead.hennessy@ucd.ie.
March:
On March 2nd, the Constitutional Studies Group hosted a successful seminar on “Irish Constitutional Law: An Update” in Roebuck Castle, UCD. Speakers included Trinity College lecturer and practising barrister Ailbhe O’Neill, who discussed recent developments in the Irish law on property rights, with a particular focus on the courts’ approach to the economic crisis and the decision in Dellway Investments Ltd. v NAMA.
UCD Constitutional Studies Group member EoinCarolan meanwhile provided an overview of the most important Irish constitutional cases of 2010.
For information on the event or access to the papers presented on the evening, please contact Sinead Hennessy at sinead.hennessy@ucd.ie.
