Human Rights in Ireland

The headline item for today’s meeting of EU justice ministers was the “Southern Neighbourhood Region”. This is a somewhat euphemistic reference to the Europe’s poor response in the face of asylum seekers fleeing Libya. Last week the threatened reintroduction of border checks to prevent asylum seekers travelling from Italy to France prompted a communication from the European Commission. Earlier this week Britain, which is not part of the Schengen travel area, stated it would not accept any of those seeking asylum from the conflict. Yesterday, Denmark joined France in moving to reinstate border controls. It is likely therefore that the Commission communication, and the issues it sought to address, were vigorously debated at today’s meeting. Media reports are already emerging on who said what to whom. However, the central outcome – as it appears in the provisional press release - is the endorsement of the Commission’s position that an EU approach must be taken rather than ad hoc action by Member States. Read Full Post »

PILA (Public Interest Law Alliance) seeks a very capable lawyer or law graduate who is committed to social justice and human rights and has the capacity to advance public interest law in Ireland through the innovative use of web technology to assemble and disseminate legal resources to and communicate on an ongoing basis with PILA’s wide range of stakeholders.  Please contact Larry Donnelly, PILA Manager, at larry.donnelly@flac.ie for more information.

Perhaps the most famous of them all was drafted by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and came with the prefix “The Communist”. Its opening line declared that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. Today’s political manifestos tend not to reach such eloquent heights. The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that a manifesto is

A public declaration or proclamation, written or spoken; esp. a printed declaration, explanation, or justification of policy issued by a head of state, government, or political party or candidate, or any other individual or body of individuals of public relevance, as a school or movement in the Arts.

They certain got the first part right. The publication of a political party’s manifesto during an election campaign is usually treated as a useful photo opportunity and a way to guarantee coverage in the day’s media. But is there any point to the documents anymore? Are they anymore than an outdated part of political debate scrutinised by nerdy anoraks (this blog puts its collective hand up here)? Read Full Post »

It is appropriate that our 1,000th post – a milestone we reached yesterday – was Aoife O’Donoghue’s missive concerning the ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ campaign to hold the state to account as part of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review of Ireland’s human rights record. Since its foundation by Fiona de Londras and Máiréad Enright eighteen months ago Human Rights in Ireland has sought to promote awareness and discussion of human rights at home and abroad. The Universal Periodic Review is another important way of doing so – if you haven’t already, do check out www.rightsnow.ie. In celebration of the milestone it might interest readers to know just what you’ve been reading. Read Full Post »

It’s no Magna Carta. Those of us who teach public law in British universities will certainly  have to grapple with the Protection of Freedoms Bill. But will it, like the that earlier constitutional text, echo through the centuries into the classrooms of 2311? I doubt it. Although the Bill’s 107 sections will give Messrs Cameron and Clegg a long list of reforms to rattle off at party conferences it does little to coherently explain the coalition’s view of the appropriate relationship between the state and the citizen. The Government does not know what freedom is, but it knows freedom isn’t having your car immobilised without lawful authority (see section 54). In many respects, the Protection of Freedoms Bill seems to fit exactly with the coalition government’s attitude towards ‘freedom’, ‘liberty’ or Read Full Post »

In 1999, when Lord Hoffmann’s links to Amnesty International resulted in Augustus Pinochet’s extradition case having to be reheard, the BBC described him as “the cleverest law lord of his generation“. He must have known, when penning his Foreword to Bringing Rights Back Home, that he would attract criticism from the academy, the Left-leaning press and the legal profession. Thus, that Foreword must be read as being deliberately controverial – intending to provoke just the type of debate that has ensued in legal circles this past week. It seems unlikely that the former judge is aiming a wrecking-ball at human rights or Britain’s half-century relationship with the European Convention.  After all, his scintillating opinion on internment of terrorist detainees in Belmarsh can be quoted verbatim by public Read Full Post »

This holiday seasons sees me reading Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone for the first time. Published in 2006, the book is an unflattering look inside the state-building efforts of the US administration in Iraq in the days and weeks after the invasion. The book has since gone on to inspire a Paul Greengrass/Matt Damon blockbuster Green Zone that was described by one pull-quote as “Bourne goes epic”. The book is a slow-burner and involves less running around with M16s and more running around with hastily-written memos. It demonstrates the lack of basic administrative competence inside the Green Zone but also the manner in which those with good intentions, the right ideas and the will to act were frustrated by institutional turf wars. Those familiar with Chandrasekaren’s work for The Washington Post will find the same readable writing while newcomers will enjoy his easy style. Imperial Life is an enlightening and at times depressing read but is essential for those seeking to learn how not to nation-build.

Vikram Dodd reports today that UK police seek new stop and search powers to replace section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Section 44 was abandoned in July of this year after the European Court of Human Rights refused an appeal its decision in Gillan & Quinton v. UK. In that case the Court considered the power under section 44 which allowed stops and searches in designated areas without any need for reasonable suspicion. The Court found a violation of Article 8 ECHR – the right to privacy. The basis of the judgment was the requirement that any interference with the right be “in accordance with law”. This phrase incorporates the principle of legality and fits with a long tradition of British and European adherence to the rule of law. Read Full Post »

Today will see a press conference and discussion panel at King’s College London to announce the launching of a legal challenge to UK law on partnership and marriage. The “Equal Love” campaign is challenging the ban on same-sex marriage and opposite-sex civil partnerships. Eight couples are filing a joint application to the European Court on Human Rights to challenge the UK. Speaking about the action, Professor Rob Wintemute of King’s College London said:

I am confident that we have a good chance of persuading the European Court of Human Rights that the UK’s system of segregating couples into two ‘separate but equal’ legal institutions violates the European Convention. I predict that same-sex couples will be granted access to marriage in the UK. The government will eventually accept that it cannot defend the current discriminatory system.

The launch takes place at 10am and will feature speeches from Lord Anthony Lester QC and Peter Tatchell, co-ordinator of the campaign.

Last week the EU General Court handed down ins judgment in Fahas v Council: yet another decision related to targeted sanctions against individuals. The case concerned the EU’s domestic list of individuals suspected of terrorism which implments Member State obligations under UN Security Council resolution 1373. Mr Sofiane Fahas, an Algerian resident in Germany, has been listed since 12 December 2002 on suspicion of involvement with the “Al Takfir and Al-Hira” group, a dissident group in Algeria. A warrant for his arrest was issued in Italy in 9 October 2000 – this warrant was the reason for his initial listing. In 2008 he was charged with four offences before Italian courts, three of which related to terrorism. Mr Fahas sought a declaration from the General Court directing the Council not to relist his unless a “final judicial decision” proved his involvement in terrorist activities and financial compensation for the harm caused to him and his wife. The first claim was  inadmissible as the General Court does not possess the power to direct the EU institutions as Mr Fahas sought. Nevertheless the question as to the lawfulness of his continued listing remained. Read Full Post »