The 2nd of Gerry Whyte’s book, Social Inclusion and the Legal System: Public Interest Law in Ireland, has just been published by the Institute of Public Administration.
In the first part of the book, Whyte addresses four issues relating to public interest litigation. These are the legitimacy of using the Constitution to protect socio-economic rights; different aspects of the rules of practice and procedure relating to public interest litigation, such as protective costs orders, locus standi, group actions and remedies; issues relating specifically to pro bono litigation such as wasted costs orders and the doctrines of maintenance and champerty; and a new chapter on the use of European law in Irish litigation addressing issues of social exclusion.
In the second part of the book, Whyte evaluates the efficacy of public interest litigation in addressing social exclusion by considering the impact of litigation taken by Travellers, children at risk, children with learning difficulties and social welfare claimants. He concludes that litigation is a limited, but nonetheless useful, mechanism for promoting social inclusion.
In the final part of the book, the author looks beyond litigation to consider the role of the legal system generally in tackling social exclusion and here he examines the various public and voluntary models of legal aid operating in this jurisdiction.
The book is available from the IPA, price €60.