Negotiations on the adoption of the cluster munition treaty have been led by Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Austria and the Vatican, following the extensive of cluster munitions by Israel in Lebanon in 2006. For further information on the Dublin Diplomatic Conference see: http://www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie/
Monthly Archives: May 2008
International Experts to Gather at the CCJHR to Discuss Legal Responses to Crimes of Sexual Violence
The conference will feature papers from renowned experts in international and Irish law:
* Judge Teresa Doherty (Special Court for Sierra Leone)
* Kelly D. Askin (Open Society Justice Initiative)
* Doris Buss (Carleton University, Canada)
* Martha Fineman (Emory University)
* Fionnuala ni Aolain (Univ. of Minnesota and TJI, University of Ulster)
* Penny Andrews (Valparaiso University and La Trobe University)
* Madeleine Rees (OHCHR)
* Ben Klappe (Netherlands Defence Academy)
* Ollie Barbour (Irish Defence Forces)
* Nora Owen (Commission for Victims of Crime)
* Tom O’Malley (NUI Galway)
* Amira Khair Khair (ICC Women/Sudan)
* Milena Pires (Timor Leste)
* Mary Ellen Ring (Senior Counsel; to be confirmed)
A preliminary programme is available here and the booking form is available here. Those interested in attending are advised to BOOK EARLY to avoid disappointment as this is an ever-popular event.
Any queries relating to the conference can be directed to ccjhr[at]ucc.ie
Same Sex Marriage Decision in California and its Possible Value in Irish Litigation
This decision echoes many of the elements of Perez v Sharp [(Oct. 1, 1948) 32 Cal.2d 711, 198 P.2d 17] – a decision from the same court in 1948 overturning laws that barred interracial marriage. As in Perez the Court held that the right to marry is a fundamental human right and means a right to establish a legally recognized family with a person of one’s own choice. Although this has historically been an opposite-sex structure, George CJ held that “tradition alone…does not justify the denial of a fundamental constitutional rightâ€. The Court again echoed Perez when it held that the equal protection clause was engaged in relation to marriage-bans for same-sex couples. This case is the first one (to my knowledge) where a federal court has held that ‘strict scrutiny’ applies to differentiated treatment based on sexual orientation. In relatively simple terms, this means that rigorous justification must be advanced for differentiated treatment – ‘tradition’ would not be enough. [An ECHR lawyer can not help, it seems, but to hear echoes of Karner in this element of the judgment].
In re Marriage Cases is an extremely important decision for American law – its constitutional reasoning seems very sound, although there is an activist element which the dissenting judges, who claimed marriage was a question for the legislature alone, were particularly critical of. This case may also be useful in Ireland where constitutional principles are not entirely dissimilar to those with which the Californian Supreme Court was dealing. The Irish Constitution includes a right to marry [which does not specify marital form] and an equality clause [admittedly quite weak in historical perspective]. It seems quite plausible that similar reasoning would fit within our constitutional framework and it is to be expected that In re Marriage will make a comparative law appearance when the Supreme Court hears the appeal in Zappone & Gilligan v Revenue Commissioners. [KAL Case information is available here]
Five CCJHR/Faculty & Department of Law PhD Candidates Awarded IRCHSS Doctoral Scholarships
Commentary on Saadi v Italy
According to the Society, “Insights provide decision makers, the general public, and members of the legal profession around the world with brief, balanced accounts and analyses of significant legal developments and newsworthy events involving international law”.
The Saadi Insight is now published and is available here.
Mildred Loving R.I.P.
For more on the case, and on Mildred Loving, see this Obituary in the New York Times
COE Human Rights Report on Ireland Released
As part of his visit to Ireland last November, COE Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg visited the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights and met with members to discuss and highlight issues of particular concern. This visit is mentioned in his Report which was released yesterday. The Report makes a total of 34 Recommendations, which are listed below. The Government of Ireland’s response to these recommendations is included as an Appendix.
National system for protecting human rights
– Ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
– Adjust the legal aid scheme to the extent that it reflects actual cost of living standards.
– Review the mandates of the different human rights complaints bodies with a view to optimising their effectiveness and independence as well as closing current protection gaps, with particular reference to the remits of the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children.
– Provide comprehensive and comparative information to the public on the mandates and functions of different complaints mechanisms.
– Facilitate the interaction of authorities with civil society representatives at all levels to ensure that their experience and expertise can benefit policy formulation and implementation.
– Conduct a base-line study to assess the extent to which human rights are integrated into education and training, so that further needs can be identified and addressed for ensuring that human rights awareness reaches all walks of society.
– Develop a national action plan on human rights as an inclusive process for continuously improving human rights in Ireland.
Children’s rights
– Implement the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 so as to significantly reduce the number of children experiencing consistent poverty.
– Use the opportunity of the proposed constitutional amendment to incorporate the best interests of the child as a general principle in the Irish Constitution, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
– Prohibit corporal punishment of children in a comprehensive way.
– Provide for professional care in the accommodation facilities for separated children and assign a guardian ad litem to each separated child.
– Address the increasing demand for choice within the educational system, in particular with regard to cultural and religious diversity.
– Provide adequately resourced separate facilities and services for minor psychiatric patients, and make early intervention at a local level possible for such children.
Juvenile justice
– Ensure full implementation of the Children Act 2001 and its sentencing principles, for example, by providing guidance and specific training to the judiciary.
– Develop further the system of alternative sanctions for juvenile delinquents and ensure adequate funding for the system across the country.
– Review the current system of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders so that it does not lead to an increased use of detention and ensure its independent monitoring.
– Apply the Children Detention School model when the detention of juvenile offenders is deemed a necessary measure and discontinue the imprisonment of children in adult facilities.
Non-discrimination and women’s rights
– Review the resource needs of the Equality Tribunal to minimise its backlog of cases.
– Clarify the scope of legal abortions through statutory law in line with domestic jurisprudence and provide for adequate services for carrying out such abortions in Ireland.
– Change the law on birth registration in such a way that transgender persons can obtain a birth certificate reflecting their actual gender.
– Provide the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence with adequate resources for the effective fulfilment of its broad mandate while, in particular, ensuring effective support for women victims of violence through services supplied by both state and civil society operators.
Measures against racism and xenophobia
– Monitor the implementation of the National Action Plan against Racism and the local anti-racism and diversity plans in close cooperation with civil society and ethnic and cultural minority representatives, while preparing new action plans to succeed the current ones.
– Improve data collection on racist and xenophobic incidents.
– Provide for the racist motivation of a crime to be considered as an aggravating circumstance in Irish criminal law.
Situation of Travellers
– Work closely with Travellers when preparing, implementing and monitoring policies and programmes designed for the Travellers.
– Promote the participation of Travellers in political decision-making at local and national level.
– Ensure that Travellers are effectively protected against discrimination and racism under national and international law.
Treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers
– Ensure that the right to remain in Ireland during the procedure is granted to asylum-seekers who appeal asylum decisions which raise questions in relation to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
– Reconsider the provision in the proposed Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill which would direct costs for so called “frivolous and vexatious†proceedings to the legal counsel of the applicant.
– Provide family accommodation to families with children seeking asylum in Ireland.
– Introduce temporary work permits for asylum-seekers.
– Introduce statutory provisions regulating family reunification for all groups of people.
– Implement the principle of the best interests of the child in decisions within the field of immigration and refugee law related to children.
Fight against terrorism: extraordinary renditions
– Review the current inspection and monitoring arrangements in Ireland with a view to ensuring that effective and independent investigations are carried out into any serious allegation of extraordinary renditions