Michael Farrell - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Michael Farrell

Journal of paediatrics and child health, 2018

Public Interest Law Alliance Bulletin, 2019

Facing the possibility that Brexit will lead to weakening human rights protections, the Scottish ... more Facing the possibility that Brexit will lead to weakening human rights protections, the Scottish Government welcomes a proposal for a new Act of the Scottish Parliament incorporating the ECHR and social and economic rights in domestic legislation.

Lecture at George Mitchell Institute, Queen's University, Belfast, 2018

The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland; more work to be done by its successo... more The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland; more work to be done by its successor organisations to meet new challenges and the threat from Brexit.

This report by Free Legal Advice Centres Ireland considers the 'Lydia Foy case', which led to off... more This report by Free Legal Advice Centres Ireland considers the 'Lydia Foy case', which led to official recognition of transgender persons in Ireland, as an example of strategic litigation. The report also includes Lydia Foy's own comments on the case.

A personal recollection of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland in 196... more A personal recollection of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland in 1968 delivered at the Sheehy Skeffington School, April 2018.

Review of new study on whether Irish law and courts can enforce basic minimum standards of housin... more Review of new study on whether Irish law and courts can enforce basic minimum standards of housing, education and healthcare.

Most of the discussion about Brexit's impact on Ireland - North and South - has focused on econom... more Most of the discussion about Brexit's impact on Ireland - North and South - has focused on economic issues. But civil society groups believe that human rights and equality provisions in Northern Ireland are also at risk.

The Irish High Court has ruled that a law that allows involuntary detention in secure psychiatric... more The Irish High Court has ruled that a law that allows involuntary detention in secure psychiatric units for up to 12 months without an effective appeal to a court or independent body is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Will the Irish government amend the law to conform to the Convention?

This paper argues that Brexit and a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ir... more This paper argues that Brexit and a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would undermine the position of residents of Northern Ireland who are entitled to be Irish citizens and would be damaging to the Northern Ireland peace process,

This review of a book on 'Justice in the EU' looks at the role of the Charter of Fundamental Righ... more This review of a book on 'Justice in the EU' looks at the role of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU in combating xenophobia and exclusionism and helping to build a Social Europe.

When seeking to bring about social change, a successful legal challenge is often just the beginni... more When seeking to bring about social change, a successful legal challenge is often just the beginning of the process. There can be a long struggle to secure the implementation of the court's decision. This paper, from a conference in Belfast on Litigating Social Change, looks at an example from Ireland.

The legislation incorporating the ECHR into domestic law in Ireland requires significant reform t... more The legislation incorporating the ECHR into domestic law in Ireland requires significant reform to make it an effective tool to protect human rights.

In this paper to the Fifth International Congress on Cultural Studies at the University of Aveiro... more In this paper to the Fifth International Congress on Cultural Studies at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, the author who was the solicitor dealing with the long drawn out transgender case that led to the introduction of ground-breaking Gender Recognition in Ireland, describes not only the legal case but the subsequent lobbying and campaigning required to secure implementation of the court's decision.

Ireland passed a progressive Gender Recognition Act in July 2015 which provides for recognition o... more Ireland passed a progressive Gender Recognition Act in July 2015 which provides for recognition of Transgender persons without medical tests. This law was in response to a long running legal case taken by Trans woman Lydia Foy. The case succeed by reliance on the European Convention on Human Rights but it also exposed flaws in Ireland's ECHR Act which need to be remedied if it is to be effective.

This paper examines how the ECHR has been used in some significant cases in the Irish courts and ... more This paper examines how the ECHR has been used in some significant cases in the Irish courts and the likely role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in making the ECHR a more effective instrument for protecting rights in Ireland.

This paper looks at the effect that the European Convention on Human Rights has had in helping to... more This paper looks at the effect that the European Convention on Human Rights has had in helping to assert and protect rights not fully protected by the Irish Constitution both through cases taken to the European Court of Human Rights and through cases taken using the European Convention on Human Rights, 2003, which partially incorporates the ECHR into Irish law.

Journal of paediatrics and child health, 2018

Public Interest Law Alliance Bulletin, 2019

Facing the possibility that Brexit will lead to weakening human rights protections, the Scottish ... more Facing the possibility that Brexit will lead to weakening human rights protections, the Scottish Government welcomes a proposal for a new Act of the Scottish Parliament incorporating the ECHR and social and economic rights in domestic legislation.

Lecture at George Mitchell Institute, Queen's University, Belfast, 2018

The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland; more work to be done by its successo... more The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland; more work to be done by its successor organisations to meet new challenges and the threat from Brexit.

This report by Free Legal Advice Centres Ireland considers the 'Lydia Foy case', which led to off... more This report by Free Legal Advice Centres Ireland considers the 'Lydia Foy case', which led to official recognition of transgender persons in Ireland, as an example of strategic litigation. The report also includes Lydia Foy's own comments on the case.

A personal recollection of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland in 196... more A personal recollection of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland in 1968 delivered at the Sheehy Skeffington School, April 2018.

Review of new study on whether Irish law and courts can enforce basic minimum standards of housin... more Review of new study on whether Irish law and courts can enforce basic minimum standards of housing, education and healthcare.

Most of the discussion about Brexit's impact on Ireland - North and South - has focused on econom... more Most of the discussion about Brexit's impact on Ireland - North and South - has focused on economic issues. But civil society groups believe that human rights and equality provisions in Northern Ireland are also at risk.

The Irish High Court has ruled that a law that allows involuntary detention in secure psychiatric... more The Irish High Court has ruled that a law that allows involuntary detention in secure psychiatric units for up to 12 months without an effective appeal to a court or independent body is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Will the Irish government amend the law to conform to the Convention?

This paper argues that Brexit and a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ir... more This paper argues that Brexit and a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would undermine the position of residents of Northern Ireland who are entitled to be Irish citizens and would be damaging to the Northern Ireland peace process,

This review of a book on 'Justice in the EU' looks at the role of the Charter of Fundamental Righ... more This review of a book on 'Justice in the EU' looks at the role of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU in combating xenophobia and exclusionism and helping to build a Social Europe.

When seeking to bring about social change, a successful legal challenge is often just the beginni... more When seeking to bring about social change, a successful legal challenge is often just the beginning of the process. There can be a long struggle to secure the implementation of the court's decision. This paper, from a conference in Belfast on Litigating Social Change, looks at an example from Ireland.

The legislation incorporating the ECHR into domestic law in Ireland requires significant reform t... more The legislation incorporating the ECHR into domestic law in Ireland requires significant reform to make it an effective tool to protect human rights.

In this paper to the Fifth International Congress on Cultural Studies at the University of Aveiro... more In this paper to the Fifth International Congress on Cultural Studies at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, the author who was the solicitor dealing with the long drawn out transgender case that led to the introduction of ground-breaking Gender Recognition in Ireland, describes not only the legal case but the subsequent lobbying and campaigning required to secure implementation of the court's decision.

Ireland passed a progressive Gender Recognition Act in July 2015 which provides for recognition o... more Ireland passed a progressive Gender Recognition Act in July 2015 which provides for recognition of Transgender persons without medical tests. This law was in response to a long running legal case taken by Trans woman Lydia Foy. The case succeed by reliance on the European Convention on Human Rights but it also exposed flaws in Ireland's ECHR Act which need to be remedied if it is to be effective.

This paper examines how the ECHR has been used in some significant cases in the Irish courts and ... more This paper examines how the ECHR has been used in some significant cases in the Irish courts and the likely role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in making the ECHR a more effective instrument for protecting rights in Ireland.

This paper looks at the effect that the European Convention on Human Rights has had in helping to... more This paper looks at the effect that the European Convention on Human Rights has had in helping to assert and protect rights not fully protected by the Irish Constitution both through cases taken to the European Court of Human Rights and through cases taken using the European Convention on Human Rights, 2003, which partially incorporates the ECHR into Irish law.

Paper to Baring Foundation conference. Uses the story of a successful transgender recognition ca... more Paper to Baring Foundation conference. Uses the story of a successful transgender recognition case in Ireland to illustrate the advantages and difficulties of using strategic litigation to secure changes in the law.

Lecture at George Mitchell Institute, Queen's University, Belfast, 2018

The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland 50 years on; more work to be done by ... more The legacy of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland 50 years on; more work to be done by its successor organisations to meet new challenges and the threat from Brexit.

This paper sets the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement in the context of the US Civil Rights ... more This paper sets the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement in the context of the US Civil Rights movement and the student and youth uprisings in Europe in 1968, then looks at the human rights and equality provisions in the Good Friday peace agreement and the threat posed to them by Brexit.

The UK and EU negotiators have promised that there will be "no diminution of rights, safeguards a... more The UK and EU negotiators have promised that there will be "no diminution of rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity" in Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit. What does this entail and is this undertaking sufficient?