The Gazette 1994

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1994

GAZETTE

N E W S

Semi nar on European Conven t i on on Human Rights

by Dr G Quinn, UCG Faculty of Law

Ireland and Britain and, possibly, Norway are now the only countries in Europe not to have absorbed the European Convention on Human Rights into their domestic legal orders in some form or other. This was one of the many interesting issues that emerged during a recent seminar on the European Convention on Human Rights which was held on October 30, 1993 in UCG. The UCG Law Faculty is host to the Irish Centre for the Study of Human Rights. The seminar was formally opened by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, TD, and was presided over by the Hon. Mr Justice Geoghegan of the High Court. The event itself was co-sponsored by the Council of Europe and the Irish Centre for the Study of Human Rights. It was attended by well over a hundred lawyers, students and members of other interested voluntary groups from all parts of Ireland, north and south. Several points raised by the various speakers are worthy of note. In her opening address the Minister noted the overall track record of Ireland under the Convention, Ireland was the first country to accept the right of individual petition to the Court. She adverted in particular to her duty as Minister for Justice to conscientiously respect and enforce the judgments of the European Court and cited the recent Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act which enforces the Norris decision as one case in point. Three senior Council of Europe officials, led by Giuseppe Guameri, presented detailed papers concerning the political background to the Convention and the machinery and case law of the European Commission on Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights. The addition of many new East European democracies as parlies to the Convention and the increased popularity of the Convention

At the Seminar on the European Convention on Human Rights were l-r: Lisa Seldon. UCG; Donncha O'Connell. UCG; Stephen Livingstone. QUB; Karen Reid, Secretary, European Commission on Human Rights; Giuseppe Guameri. Head of Commission on European Human Rights; Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, Minister for Justice; Peter Kempees, European Court of Human Rights: Dr. Gerard Quinn. UCG; and Professor Liam O'Mallev, UCG. among Western European citizens, has led to profound pressure on its machinery over the last few years. Some ten thousand applications are now and will sit in chambers to combine the functions of the former Commission and the Court. The Commission is

likely to survive for a while beyond the creation of the unified Court in order to clear the backlog of registered applications. In addition to the Council of Europe presentations there were other talks given by various speakers on a panel dealing with the relevance of the Convention in Ireland. Steven Livingstone (QUB School of Law) and Donncha O'Connell (UCG Law Faculty) spoke about the Irish cases that have been decided at Strasbourg. n SOLICITOR Our client, located in the Midlands, requires a Solicitor for a busy professional office.

registered and outstanding with the Commission which is causing many years of delay. In response to this pressure the combined Heads of Slate of the member States of the Council of Europe (which now encompasses thirty two States) decided recently at their summit in Vienna to merge the European Commission with the Court. Toward this end it was also formally decided to prepare a protocol to the main Convention which will be opened for signature next year. The new unified Court will total thirty two judges in all

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