The issue that has led to the most decisions against Ireland at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECtHR) is delay in legal proceedings, according to a new law summary prepared by FLAC Senior Solicitor Michael Farrell for PILA. Under Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, member states are obliged to accord to individuals a fair and public hearing “within a reasonable time”. On multiple occasions Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations in this regard. Out of 20 total adverse judgments made against Ireland, 11 of these have been for delays in proceedings. In only the last six months there have been three decisions on this issue.
Doran v. Ireland in 2003, for example, suffered extensive delays that prompted the Strasbourg Court to hold that “it is for the state to organise its legal system as to ensure the reasonably timely determination of legal proceedings”. Other cases mentioned in Farrell’s analysis are include McFarlane v Ireland and Superwood Holdings v Ireland.
Click here to read the Law Summary, which can also be found under the Barriers to Public Interest Litigation page of the PILA website.
Click here to see a comprehensive list of delay decisions against Ireland by the ECtHR.