The Law Society of Ireland and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association have jointly launched a report on the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (the ECHR Act 2003) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter) on Irish case law. The ECHR Act 2003 has been in force since December 2003 and the Charter became binding in December 2009. The report was authored by Dr. Suzanne Kingston and Dr. Liam Thornton of UCD.
The report aims to raise awareness amongst legal advocates of the human rights guaranteed by the ECHR Act 2003 and the Charter from the perspective of their application and development by Irish courts. The report also aims to assist practitioners in utilising these cases in a range of areas of legal practice by exploring arguments that have succeeded or failed in making an impact on Irish law and policy.
The report contains an extensive list of cases in which the Convention, the ECHR Act 2003 and the Charter have been pleaded. This will allow for a detailed exploration of the potential of these instruments to be utilised in litigation, further aiding legal practitioners, judges and other decision makers, not to mention academics and students.
Dr Lydia Foy’s landmark case is referenced extensively in the report. The Gender Recognition Act 2015 which was signed into law by President Higgins in July 2015 comes eight years after the High Court decision that the failure to recognise transgender persons in Ireland was in breach of the ECHR. The case is one of many referenced in the report that illustrate how the incorporation of European rights into Irish law can add value to existing human rights protections and can fill in any remaining gaps in Ireland’s human rights provisions.
Click here to access an overview of the report
Click here to access the full report
Click here to access a comprehensive briefing note on the Foy case (Feb 2013)