Guest piece by Dr. Mary Rogan and Prof. Ivana Bacik on Changing Ireland, Changing Law

Dr Mary Rogan and Professor Ivana Bacik are the directors of ‘Changing Ireland, Changing Law’, funded by the Irish Research Council.

The connections between law and social change are readily apparent, though their relative velocity may give rise to frustration. While the changing nature of society is evident every day in our courtrooms, within the Houses of the Oireachtas, and in the actions of campaigning and advocacy organisations, it is only in exceptional cases that we hear the stories behind moments of legal change.

We are delighted to lead a project called ‘Changing Ireland, Changing Law’, with our lead partner, PILA. This project, funded by the Irish Research Council’s ‘Engaging Civic Society’ stream of its New Foundations scheme, seeks to promote public debate, discussion and reflection on how law and social change interact in Ireland.

‘Changing Ireland, Changing Law’ (CICL) will work with PILA, the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) and the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI). It seeks to document the experiences of individuals who have taken cases of social importance. Recognising that it is not only cases heard in the superior courts, resulting in judgments pored over by constitutional lawyers than can shape people’s lives in profound ways, the project will also support the sharing of experiences of cases in other legal forums, such as the Equality Tribunal. The project also looks to support the sharing of experiences amongst civil society organisations of advocating for legal change, and the tools used. As PILA has so ably documented, those engaged in any kind of effort to seek legal change, but particularly through the courts, face intimidating hurdles. Their stories assist us to understand more about the nature of legal processes.

CICL will bring together former litigants, lawyers, civil society organisations, academics and all those interested in the connections between law and social change in a series of seminars. Four themes will be explored; the first, ‘women changing law, changing society’ gave rise to a seminar with NWCI at Trinity College Dublin, on 8 May. Máirín de Búrca, litigant in de Búrca and Anderson v Attorney General [1972] IR 1, and Dr. Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington, who won a case before the Equality Tribunal, which found that her employer had discriminated against her for promotion because of her gender, spoke of their experiences of taking litigation. Professor Yvonne Scannell spoke of her involvement in the Murphy v Attorney General [1982] IR 241litigation, while Mary O’Toole SC reflected on the position of women in the legal profession, and the realities of being involved in high-stakes litigation, and the responsibilities lawyers bear. Professor Aileen McColgan spoke about the differences between litigation, which can secure recognition of rights (and wrong), and structural changes, which can secure redistribution of resources.

The inspiring, enlightening and energising nature of the first seminar in the series bodes well for future events. CICL’s second seminar will be jointly hosted with GLEN on July 10th,from 11am - 1pm, in room 3126, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin. It will discuss sexual identity, law and social change. We look forward to hearing from Senator David Norris, Professor Mark Bell, TCD, Senator Katherine Zappone and Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan.

A seminar on immigration and legal change will take place in Dublin Institute of Technology, on Friday, 18th September at 11am, and a seminar on public interest litigation is planned for Friday, 16th October, in Dublin Institute of Technology at 11am.

Further information can be obtained from cicl@tcd.ie, and @CICL15.

 

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