Public Interest Law & Litigation Conference

6 October 2005

eA day-long conference on public interest law and litigation took place on Thursday, 6 October 2005 at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8.

The event, entitled Public Interest Law in Ireland - the Reality and the Potential, was intended to spark a debate on how public interest law can be used in the interests of communities here in Ireland. FLAC felt it important that NGOs and community groups take part and assess how they can best use this new tool in their ongoing work on behalf of people who are disadvantaged and excluded in our society.

Public interest law needs a strong cooperation between the organisations who know what is needed and the lawyers who can work with them to achieve it. The conference featured an array of Irish and international speakers with wide experience in using law in the public interest. This included:

• Using the law to change the world
  Mr Julian Burnside QC, Victoria, Australia
• How Public Interest Law and Litigation can make a difference to marginalised and vulnerable groups in the Republic of Ireland
  Mr Mel Cousins BL
• The UK experience of test cases and the Human Rights Act 1998
  Mr Roger Smith, Director, JUSTICE, UK
• Test cases for adults and children with medical conditions
  Ms Ellie Venhola, Community Legal Clinic, Ontario, Canada
• Race, Poverty, Justice and Katrina: Reflections on Public Interest Law & Litigation in the United States
  Mr Robert Garcia, Centre for Law in the Public Interest, Los Angeles, USA
• Suing the US Government for ill-treating detainees in Iraq & Afghanistan
  Ms Fiona Doherty, Human Rights First (formerly US Lawyers Committee for Human Rights)
• Public Interest Law: The South African Experience
  Mr Geoff Budlender, Advocate of the High Court of South Africa
• The draft Bill of Rights in Northern Ireland
  Professor Monica McWilliams, Chief Commissioner, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
• Righting Wrongs & Protecting the Public's Right to Know
  Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman & Information Commissioner
• Using Law & Litigation in the Public Interest
  Mr Michael Farrell, Senior Solicitor, FLAC
• Strategies for promoting Social Inclusion through Public Interest Law
  Professor Gerry Whyte, Fellow of Trinity College Dublin

The conference was chaired by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, President of the Law Reform Commission and Noeline Blackwell, FLAC Director General. The event was summarised by Prof Gerard Quinn of NUI Galway. Chair of the Bar Association Hugh Mohan SC and President of the Law Society Owen Binchy also addressed the conference. The event also featured a lively Questions and Answers Session.

You can download a copy of the conference proceedings, incorporating Mel Cousins' paper on legal aid and litigation in Ireland and all the presentations made to the conference. You also can obtain a DVD of the event, which includes a summarised version of the day's proceedings, by contacting us.

In addition, you can view video clips from the day online!

Venue

Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

Location Map