Time: 6pm
Date: 8 March 2018
Venue: UCD Sutherland School of Law, Belfield, Dublin 4
This year’s John M. Kelly Lecture is to be delivered by Professor Gerry Whyte of Trinity College Dublin, entitled ‘On Lord Ellenborough's Law of Humanity’, and introduced by the Hon. Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan.
Gerry Whyte was educated at St. Mary's CBS, Mullingar, UCD and the King's Inns and he lectures in the School of Law, TCD. The author or co-author of books on public interest law, constitutional law and trade union law, he has published extensively in the areas of public interest law, constitutional law, social welfare law and labour law. He has also collaborated for many years with a variety of social justice and legal aid organisations, was a former member of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction and of the Steering Group of the Irish Council of People with Disabilities and is a current member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. Together with Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan, he has edited the third and fourth editions of J.M. Kelly: The Irish Constitution.
On Lord Ellenborough's Law of Humanity
In his decision in R v Eastbourne Inhabitants (1803), Lord Ellenborough stated that “the law of humanity, which is anterior to all positive laws, obliges [society] to afford [non-citizens] relief, to save them from starving.” This arguably amounts to a recognition of the State’s duty to take positive steps to assist those who are unable, through their own efforts, to avoid starvation. Professor Whyte’s paper will consider how this principle has been applied in subsequent case law in the UK and will also examine whether a similar principle may be found in modern Irish law. In particular, he will consider the implications of recent judicial decisions and academic research on the constitutional concept of dignity for our understanding of Lord Ellenborough’s “law of humanity”.
The John M. Jelly Lecture
This lecture series is named for John M. Kelly (1931-1991), Professor of Roman Law and Jurisprudence in UCD 1965-1991. Author of several books including the definitive The Irish Constitution and editor of the Irish Jurist, Professor Kelly also served as Senator, TD, Chief Whip, Attorney General, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Trade and Tourism. His last book, A Short History of Western Legal Theory was published by Oxford University Press in 1992.
RSVP by Friday 2 March
Email: danny.moran@ucd.ie
Tel: (01) 716 4106