PILA & PILS Conference
This event happened on 11 November 2011
Review of Event
Political Commitment, Practical Protection: Using the ECHR North and South
Inaugural PILA/PILS Project Joint Annual Conference
Venue: Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin
Date: Friday 11 November 2011, 09h30 to 16h15
PILA and the PILS Project held a successful inaugural Joint Annual Conference, Political Commitment, Practical Protection: Using the ECHR North and South, on Friday 11 November 2011 at Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin. The conference was attended by over 300 people and was an important cross-border landmark conference.
A selection of papers from the conference are available - more will be available shortly:
- Opening remarks by Donncha O'Connell
- Colin Daly of Northside Community Law Centre presentation - "Using the ECHR - A Community Law Centre's Perspective"
- Michael Farrell (Senior Solicitor, Free Legal Advice Centres) - "The Long Road to Change - The Case of Lydia Foy"
- Children breakout session - presentation and powerpoint by Kathryn Stevenson (Head of Legal Unit, Children's Law Centre, NI)
- Housing breakout session - powerpoint by Rose Wall (Solicitor in Charge, Mercy Law Resource Centre, ROI)
- Mental health breakout session - powerpoint by Aine Hynes (Partner, St John's Solicitors and Chair Irish Mental Health Lawyers' Association, ROI)
- Prisoners breakout session - presentation by Joseph O'Keefe BL (NI)
- Travellers breakout session - presentation by Alyson Kilpatrick BL (NI)
The conference received a variety of media coverage:
- Interview with keynote speaker Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty, Irish Times (Monday 14 November 2011)
- "'Lukewarm' commitment to rights convention", The Examiner (Monday 14 November 2011)
- RTE Radio 1 Drivetime Interview with Shami Chakrabarti (at 1:58) (Friday 11 November 2011)
The conference was focused on the political commitment to and practical implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland since 1998's Good Friday Agreement. Donncha O'Connell, Law Lecturer at the National University of Ireland Galway, and FLAC Director-General Noeline Blackwell were the conference's chairpersons.
Shami Chakrabarti, Director of UK human rights organisation Liberty, delivered the keynote address - a video of her presentation will be available shortly. Three prominent practitioners from the North and South (Gerry Hyland, Colin Daly and Michael Farrell) spoke about how the ECHR is being used practically in both jurisdictions.
The afternoon session considered the use of the ECHR in relation to specific people and issues: children, housing, mental health, prisoners and Travellers. Breakout sessions on each of these areas were held with a chairperson and speakers representing both jurisdictions. Michael Finucane then reflected on whether there is in fact equivalence of protection under the ECHR North and South.
Download the conference agenda here.
Venue
Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin