Conference on a Referendum on Housing in Ireland

The UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies recently hosted a two-day conference with the Housing Commission on a referendum on housing in Ireland. 

The Housing Commission is an independent commission that has been tasked by government with bringing forward proposals on the wording for a referendum on housing.

The conference formed part of the fact finding and orientation stage of the Commissions work, serving as a listening exercise to examine the complex constitutional questions arising and the various proposals that have been made made around the potential wording for an amendment to the Constitution.

The conference was a hybrid event featuring international and domestic experts and which was live-streamed to facilitate public participation in its discussions.

Copies of the papers and presentations from the conference can be found here

New and Emerging Voices in Constitutional Law Annual Symposium

The UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies is delighted to announce that following on from the success of last year’s event, the second annual “New and Emerging Voices in Constitutional Law Symposium” will take place at the Sutherland School of Law on 23 and 24 March 2023.

The conference is co-organised by the Centre Director, Professor Eoin Carolan, and Chief Outreach Officer, Seána Glennon, with a view to providing an opportunity for emerging scholars in both legal practice and academia to present their work in-person and to obtain feedback and insights from colleagues in the field. 

The symposium provides an opportunity for emerging researchers to gain experience in presenting their work, to gain insight into research currently being undertaken by peers in the constitutional law space, and to network and connect with other scholars at a similar stage. As with last year – when we had the privilege of welcoming Supreme Court judge, Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan – there will also be an opportunity to receive feedback on the work from senior legal figures.

The Centre looks forward to hosting our next New and Emerging Voices in Constitutional Law Symposium in March 2024.

A copy of the schedule for the 2023 Symposium, at which the Centre welcomed an outstanding group of early career scholars from Ireland, the UK, across Europe, the US and Canada, is available here.

The symposium included panels on the following themes:

•    Constitutional change, chaired by Professor James McDermott, University College Dublin;
•    Constitutional Law and the Environment, chaired by Professor Eoin Carolan, UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies;
•    Constitutional Conventions and Common Law, chaired by Professor Mary Catherine Lucey, University College Dublin;
•    Developments in Irish Constitutional Law, chaired by the Hon. Justice Gerard Hogan, Supreme Court of Ireland;
•    Comparative Constitutional Perspectives, chaired by Professor John O’Dowd, University College Dublin; 
•    Populism and Rule of Law, chaired by Professor Eoin Carolan, UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies;
•    Judicial Review, chaired by Dawn Lonergan, Trinity College Dublin and Carr Communications; and 
•    Law and Culture, chaired by Seána Glennon, UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies.

Any queries with regard to this or other Centre events, and requests to be added to the Centre’s mailing list, can be directed to Professor Eoin Carolan at eoin.carolan@ucd.ie and Seána Glennon at seana.glennon@ucdconnect.ie