As the United Kingdom prepares to trigger Article 50, the potential impact of Brexit on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland and on the protection of human rights both North and South of the border is becoming an increasing cause for concern. Focusing on recent litigation in the UK and Irish courts around the BREXIT process, this seminar will explore the emerging legal issues for both legal systems on the island. Join legal experts, human rights lawyers and stakeholders in the BREXIT process for an open forum discussion chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Catherine McGuinness.
The Seminar will qualify for CPD
Venue: Distillery Building, Church Street
Date and Time: 5pm-7pm, 1st March 2017
RSVP: RSVP@iccl.ie
Chair: Judge Catherine McGuinness, former Judge of the Supreme Court and member of the Council of State. Through a long and illustrious career, Catherine has held the positions of Senator, President of the Law Reform Commission, and member of the Forum on Peace and Reconciliation, along with many other positions and honours in academia and in activism.
Speakers:
- Colin Harvey is Professor of Human Rights Law, Queen’s University Belfast. He has served as Head of the Law School, a member of Senate and Director of the Human Rights Centre at Queen’s. He has been a Commissioner on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, and a member of the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council. He has worked with leading human rights NGOs including Amnesty International, the British Institute of Human Rights, and the Committee on the Administration of Justice. He has held visiting positions at the University of Michigan, the LSE and Fordham University, and taught on the international human rights programme at the University of Oxford. He is a member of the Academic Panel at Doughty Street Chambers and has written and taught extensively on human rights law and policy.
- Chris McCrudden is Professor of Human Rights and Equality Law at Queen’s University Belfast and William W Cook Global Law Professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Chris played a leading role in developing the human rights and equality pillars of the Good Friday Agreement.
- Simon McGarr, solicitor with McGarr solicitors, concentrates on civil and commercial litigation matters and has particular experience in the areas of Data Protection and internet law. He is involved in a legal challenge to BREXIT currently before the Irish High Court.
- Deirdre Duffy is Deputy Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), and in 2015, was appointed as the human rights expert member of the DNA Database System Oversight Committee. She is a former Co-Chair of Comhlámh (association of volunteers and returned development workers) and a member of the newly-established Interim Board of the Victims’ Rights Alliance (VRA). Deirdre has extensive experience in legal research and policy development across a broad range of human rights and equality issues, and, during her time at ICCL has strategically developed the JUSTICIA European Rights network. Deirdre holds an LLM in Human Rights Law and International Criminal Law from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Human Rights and Politics from University College Dublin and has completed specialist training in international human rights reporting. A graduate of the BCL programme at University College Cork, Deirdre was called to the Bar in 2005.