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Project Director:
Professor William Schabas
Researcher:
Ms. Aisling O'Sullivan
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The Irish Centre for Human Rights is presently researching a project on Ireland's involvement in the early period of international human rights law and institutions. The project aims to examine Irish foreign policy in the early period of International human rights law through the lens of two principal themes; namely Ireland 's participation in international human rights law-making and Ireland 's engagement in international human rights institutions.
The research will involve an investigation of material available in the National Archives of Ireland, the Public Records Office in London , the United Nations Archives in New York , the Archives of the European Court of Human Rights and private archival collections in Ireland .
Currently, the Project is concentrating on Ireland's contribution within the early period of the Council of Europe, focusing on Ireland's position during the negotiations of the Statute of the C.O.E, the European Convention on Human Rights and First Protocol as well as the two principal petitions before the European Court of Human Rights; Gerard Richard Lawless v. Ireland (1960-1) and Ireland v. United Kingdom (1977-8).
"It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the seriousness of these agreements to which the Irish nation is now committed. As far as we are aware neither the Legislature nor the Irish people have given any express authority to the Government to commit them to this agreement. Clearly it confers on an external judicial body the right to adjudicate on matters of purely Irish concern. Equally clearly it derogates from the exclusive juridical rights conferred by the Constitution on the Irish courts. It seems to us that this external court may even reverse or render nugatory a decision made by our Supreme Court." Editorial reaction in the Irish Independent to Ireland 's ratification of the European Convention of Human Rights and First Protocol, dated 26th February 1953. |
Ireland and the United Nations:
1. Ireland 's application for membership from 1946-55.
2. Irish negotiating position during the drafting of the International Covenants.
3. Ireland and the Commission of Human Rights.