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Events & conferences

Upcoming Events in the 2011-12 Academic Year

 

For events conducted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, please consult their websites.

• Irish Centre for Human Rights: Upcoming Events / Past Events
• Centre for Disability Law and Policy: Upcoming Events / Past Events
  

Academic Year 2009-10

Annual Irish Universities' Trip to the European Institutions

The trip took place this year from 8th -12th February.  The trip was a great success with visits to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where the students got to sit in on the AKZO hearing and the two Irish judges, Aindrias O'Caoimh (Court of Justice) and Kevin O'Higgins (General Court) hosted dinner for the group; to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where students where addressed by nine out of the twelve Irish MEPs, including Mairead McGuinness, Jim Higgins, and Pat the Cope Gallagher pictured below); and to the European Commission in Brussels, where students spent the day in the company of many Commission officials and where they were once again treated to lunch.

 

Academic Year 2007-2008

Monday 14th April, 2008 – Aras Moyola (North Campus)

PUBLIC LECTURE ON THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

It was with great pleasure that the Centre for Disability Law and Policy recently hosted a public lecture entitled ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - New Dawn or False Hopes?’. Guest Lecturer, Professor Jerome Bickenbach, kindly gave the lecture and discussed the concept of equality that underpins the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Pictured right is Professor Jerome Bickenbach and Professor Gerard Quinn (Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway).

The Centre for Disability Law and Policy would like to sincerely thank all of those who attended the lecture. The materials from the event are available as follows:

• Video from the lecture, please download here: http://videostream.nuigalway.ie/disability_law
• PowerPoint presentation given by Professor Bickenbach, please download here.
• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, please download here.
• Professor Bickenbach’s biographical details, please download here.

To facilitate disability access, the lecture materials have also been prepared in audio format (Robobraille documents) and plain text versions as follows:

• Professor Bickenbach PowerPoint Presentation in Robobraille, please download here.
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Robobraille, please download here.
• Plain text document of PowerPoint presentation, please download here.
• Plain text document of UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, please download here.

If you would like to contact the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, please email cdlp@nuigalway.ie or telephone/text message +353 (0)87 6660634.

Friday 11th April, 2008 – Aras Moyola (North Campus)

LAW FACULTY ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED LECTURE 2008

Two of the foremost jurists in the area of Family and Child Law, The Right Honourable Baroness Hale of Richmond ( pictured Left) and Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, jointly delivered the Annual Distinguished Lecture 2008 hosted by the Faculty of Law at NUI Galway on Friday, 11 April at 7pm. The event took place in the main lecture theatre of Áras Moyola, NUI Galway, on the north campus beside St. Anthony’s.

The title of the lecture was Family Law in Ireland and the United Kingdom: Common Threads and Divergent Perspectives. The joint lecture focused on three broad themes: the division of assets and the question of ’proper provision’ upon divorce, the position of children, and the role of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in family law.

Full streaming videos are available in three separate files: (1) the introduction by the President of NUI Galway and the paper of Baroness Hale; (2) the paper of Mrs. Justice McGuinness; and (3) the questions and answers session.

Biographical notes on the speakers are available here.

Friday 11th April, 2008 – Moore Institute Seminar Room

PROF FONER OF COLUMBIA TO TALK ON SLAVERY AND THE US

The Faculty of Law in association with the Moore Institute hosted a lecture by Professor Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University on the subject of ’Reconstruction in the United States – Contradictions and Promises’ on Thursday 10th April, in the Moore Institute seminar room.  Professor Foner is the most distinguished historian in the United States working on the general subject of liberty, and is more particularly a specialist on the history of the American civil war and the reconstruction of the American South that followed upon the defeat of the Union army.  Eric Foner is a prize wining lecturer; the author of a multitude of books; and the co-author of two prize wining exhibits on American history.

Click here for further information or download the podcast here.

Saturday 17th November, 2007 – Aras Moyola (North Campus)

LAW & MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE

This conference explored a range of topics including social factors that are barriers to having good mental health or barriers to recovery and examined whether law can contribute to removing such barriers. The conference also addressed key issues that impact on mental health, such as respect for human rights, the role of advocacy, workplace issues relating to discrimination and the responsibilities of employers for mental injury at work. Mental health tribunals, in existence since November 2006, were discussed as well as the proposals to have a new approach to decision-making. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was also addressed.

Pictured left are Shivaun Quinlivan, Deputy Jimmy Devins, Ursula Connolly

The Faculty of Law, the Disability Law & Policy Research Unit and the Centre for Research on Occupational and Life Stress, NUI, Galway hosted this Conference. The Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive co-sponsored the Conference.

Pictured right are participants speakers and participants.

The Conference was attended by over 100 people, made up of HSE workers, medical and legal practitioners, students, academics, service users, carers, advocacy organisations and NGO’s with an interest in the area of mental health.

Pictured left are Prof Gerard Quinn, Donncha O’Connell, Ursula Connolly, Deputy Jimmy Devins, Mary Keys, Prof Phil Fennell, John Redican, Martin Rogan

Speakers and Papers: The Law and Mental Health Conference was addressed by Ms. Ursula Connolly, Professor Phil Fennell, Dr. Mary Keys, Ms. Shivaun Quinlivan, Professor Gerard Quinn (Rapporteur), Mr. John Redican, Dr. Darius Whelan and was chaired by Mr. Martin Rogan.

Click here for further images of Prof Phil Fennell and Ms. Ursula Connolly addressing the participants.

 

Saturday 6th October, 2007 – Aras Moyola (North Campus)

EQUALITY, LEGISLATION & THE CONSTITUTION

A conference to mark the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and the 70th anniversary of the Irish Constitution was held on Saturday 6th October, 2007 in the Aras Moyola (North Campus). It was hosted jointly by the Faculty of Law, Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and the Equality Authority

Speakers included: Brian Lenihan, T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform, Niall Crowley, Eilis Barry, Donncha O’Connell, Professor Gerard Quinn, Frank Callanan, S.C., Siobhan Phelan, B.L., Oran Doyle, Professor William Binchy, Professor Gerry Whyte, Siobhan Mullally, Marie McGonagle, Professor Kathleen Mahoney (Canada), Tarlach McGonagle, Colm O Cinneide, Padraic Kenna, Cathryn Costello, Des Hogan.

Pictured at the opening of the Equality, Legislation and the Constitution Conference organised jointly by the Law Faculty and Equality Authority on 6th October 2007 to mark the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and the 70th anniversary of Bunreacht na hEireann 1937 were (left to right): Niall Crowley, CEO of the Equality Authority, Donncha O’Connell, Dean of Law and Brian Lenihan, T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

A full photo gallery can be found here.

50 YEARS OF THE TREATY OF ROME: REFLECTING ON PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

To mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community, the Law Faculty at NUI Galway hosted a one-day conference on Saturdays 29th September, 2007. The objective is to critically discuss the transformation of the European Community/European Union since 1957 with an emphasis on the institutional and substantive aspects of this transformation.

Full information is available here, and shall be updated shortly.

ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED LECTURE 2007

The Faculty of Law Annual Distinguished Lecture took place on Friday 23rd March at 7pm in Lecture Theatre MY001, Moyola Building, NUI Galway. The title of this year’s lecture is Europe at Fifty: A Mid-Life Crisis? This title was chosen to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and will be followed by other commemorative events to be organised by the Faculty of Law later in 2007. The full text of the lecture can be downloaded in PDF format. The lecture is now also available to view online at: http://videostream.nuigalway.ie/law_lecture2007 or via Google Videos. Alternatively, the audio only version can be obtained at http://videostream.nuigalway.ie/lawlecture2007_audio.mp3.

Left: Dr. Niamh Nic Shuibhne, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness and Professor Neil Walker.
Right: Donncha O'Connell, Dean of NUI, Galway Faculty of Law, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness and Professor Neil Walker.
Below: Marie McGonagle, Head of NUI, Galway Law School, Professor Neil Walker, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, Donncha O'Connell and Dr. Niamh Nic Shuibhne.

The Faculty is honoured that Professor Neil Walker of the European University Institute, Florence agreed to deliver the lecture. Professor Walker is one of the foremost scholars in the area of European constitutionalism. The response was delivered by Dr. Niamh Nic Shuibhne, Reader in Law at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh.  Niamh is an alumna of NUI Galway and also taught in the Faculty of Law for a period of time. The event was chaired by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, President of the Law Reform Commission and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, NUI Galway. Speaker biographies can be obtained here.

Archived Older Events

ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED LECTURE 2006

The Annual Distinguished Lecture for 2006 took place in the Siobhan McKenna Theatre (Arts Millennium Building) on Tuesday 11th April. This year, the lecture was delivered by Judge John T. Noonan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with a formal response from Professor Gerry Whyte of the University of Dublin, Trinity College. The title of the lecture was: "The Letter of Religious Liberty and its Spirit .

The theme of this year's lecture is of great contemporary relevance not just in Europe but throughout the world. Judge Noonan is a leading authority on the place of religion in modern liberal-democracies. Prior to his appointment to the Ninth Circuit in 1985, Judge Noonan held professorial positions at the University of Notre Dame and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of several important works on the theme of religion and the rule of law, including A Private Choice: Abortion in America in the Seventies (1979), The Believer and the Powers that Are (1987), Canons and Canonists in Context (1997), The Lustre of Our Country: The American Experience of Religious Freedom (1998), and Religious Freedom: History, Cases, and Other Materials on the Interaction of Religion and Government (with Edward M. Gaffney) (2001). Judge Noonan is also a past-President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association and, in 1985, was the recipient of the Laetare Medal, the most prestigious award given to American Roman Catholics.

DEBATE ON THE EU SERVICES DIRECTIVE

NUI, Galway students had the opportunity to debate the EU Services Directive on the 28th of March, 2006. Organised by the Faculty of Law together with the European Commission Representation in Ireland, the debate focused on the following question: "Will the EU Directive on Services cause a race to the bottom?"

Alan Dukes, former Fine Gael leader and current Director-General of the Institute of European Affairs, was the guest speaker and the debate was chaired by Dr Laurent Pech, Jean Monnet Lecturer in EU Law, NUI, Galway.

IRISH UNIVERSITIES TRIP TO THE EU INSTITUTIONS

The Annual Law Studies Tour of the EU institutions took place in March 2006 . During this week long trip, the law students visited the EU Parliament where they had the opportunity to meet with almost all the Irish MEPs. The group were also welcome to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg by Judge Jean-Paul Costa, Vice-president of the Court and the Irish member, Judge John Hedigan. The group also had the chance to meet with Ms Catherine Day, the Secretary General of the European Commission.

From left: Dr. Laurent Pech , Lecturer in EU Law at NUIG, Amina Adanan, Deirdre Gallagher, Mary Clare Kennedy, Catriona Moloney, Judge Aindrias O'Caoimh, Tracy Murphy, Margaret Russell, Emma Harvey, Faith O'Neill, Roisin McGrogan.

A further highlight of the week was the group's visit to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg which was followed by a private lunch hosted by Judges Aindrias O'Caoimh and John Cooke.

JUDGE MARY FAHERTY HONOURED BY NUI, GALWAY

The NUI Galway Award for Law, Public Service and Government was presented this year to Her Honour Judge Mary Faherty, Circuit Court Judge. Judge Faherty received this award in recognition of her leading role as Vice-Chairperson and Chairperson of the Employment Appeals Tribunal, a position she held until her appointment to the bench in 2002 and in which she gained considerable distinction as an innovator.

From left: Dr. Iognaid O Muircheartaigh, President of NUI Galway, Judge Mary Faherty, Donncha O'Connell, Dean of Law and Professor Gerard Hurley, Vice-President of NUI Galway.

Her tenure as Chairperson included membership of the first Ministerial Taskforce on the Prevention of Bullying at Work and a term of office as President of the European Association of Labour Court Judges. In addition to her work as Judge of the Circuit Court she is a member of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments (the Mahon Tribunal). Judge Faherty graduated from NUI Galway with a BA (Hons) degree in German and Legal Studies in 1982, followed by an LLB (Hons) in 1984.

DEAN SPEAKS TO MAYO SOLICITORS

The Dean of the Law Faculty, Mr. Donncha O'Connell, addressed the Mayo Solicitors' Bar Association on 9th December, 2005. The full text of his speech is available here.

From left: Donncha O'Connell, Dean of Law, Fiona McAllister, President of the Mayo Solicitors' Bar Association and Pat O'Connor, former President of the Law Society of Ireland. Click the image for the full-size photo.

LAW FACULTY ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF ADJUNCT PROFESSOR

The appointment of Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness as Adjunct Professor at the Department of Law, NUI, Galway, was formally announced by University Vice-President, Professor Jim Ward, at a reception in NUI, Galway on Wednesday 16th November, 2005. Mrs. Justice McGuinness is a judge of the Irish Supreme Court and President of the Law Reform Commission. She was, previously, a Senator representing the University of Dublin, Trinity College panel in Seanad Eireann and acted as the Chairperson of the Forum for Peace & Reconciliation.

From left: Mr. Donncha O'Connell (Dean), University Vice-President, Prof. Jim Ward, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, Ms. Marie McGonagle (Head of Law Dept).

Welcoming the appointment, Marie McGonagle, Head of Department and Director of the LL.M in Public Law said: "It is especially appropriate that Mrs. Justice McGuinness, given her dynamic track record as both a judge and legislator, will be associated with our new LL.M programme in Public Law. The students on that programme - which is the first of its kind in Ireland - will have the benefit of her extensive knowledge and experience".

The Dean, Donncha O'Connell, stated that the Faculty of Law was honoured that a person of Mrs. Justice McGuinness's calibre was willing to accept the University's offer of an Adjunct Chair for a three-year period and that he looked forward to a fruitful period of engagement between the staff and student academic community in Galway and an eminent member of the Irish judiciary. He went on to say: "This will cement the already healthy relationship between the Faculty and judiciary developed in recent years through the Faculty's involvement in editing and producing the Judicial Studies Institute Journal ".

SEMINAR TREATY MONITORING OPTIONS FOR PROPOSED UN DISABILITY TREATY

The NUI, Galway Disability Law & Policy Research Unit co-sponsored a conference on the monitoring of the draft UN disability treaty to be held in Dublin on April 16th, 2005.  It was jointly organised with Trinity College Law School and the Irish Human Right Commission.

JUSTICE SCALIA VISITS LAW SOCIETY

Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court addressed the Law Society of NUI Galway on Wednesday 9th February, 2005 at 8pm in the O'Flaherty Theatre on "Judges as Propounders of Transcendent Moral Law". Photos of the event are below.

Left: Justice Scalia and Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of NUI, Galway Law School.
Right: Justice Scalia addresses a capacity crowd in the O'Flaherty Theatre. (Above photos courtesy of Peter O'Brien).

HUMAN RIGHTS & DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CONFERENCE

A one-day conference entitled "Human Rights & Disability Discrimination: Exploring the Value Added by the ECHR and other sources of European Law" was hosted jointly by the Disability Law & Policy Research Unit, Faculty of Law, NUI, Galway and the Equality Authority on Saturday, 25th September 2004 in the Fottrell Theatre, Arts Millennium Building, NUI, Galway. The conference programme is available here.

Pictured below is Shivaun Quinlivan, NUI, Galway. Further photos, courtesy of Joe O'Shaughnessy, follow. Click on each to view a full version.

HONORARY DOCTORATE PRESENTED TO DR. LEX FRIEDEN

Pictured below are Dr. Lex Frieden on whom the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred on June 25th, 2004; Dr. Angela Savage, who introduced Dr Frieden and Dr Garrett FitzGerald, Chancellor of the National University of Ireland. Click here to enlarge the photo.

Dr Frieden, Chairperson of the US National Disability Council and one of the chief architects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), also gave a radio talk on RTE's " Outside the Box" programme on July 13th, 2004, which can be accessed in RealAudio format here. If you do not have Real Player, please follow the instructions here.>

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EU FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE ON NON-DISCRIMINATION IN THE DISABILITY FIELD

NUI Galway Disability Law and Policy Research Unit with the Catholic University of Louvain co-hosted a major International Conference on the EU Framework Directive on Non-Discrimination in the Disability field on April 29th-30th, 2004 in Louvain, Belgium. Further details can be found here.

Front Row: Judge Luis Rodriguez Vega (Spain), Prof. Gerard Quinn, NUI, Galway), Prof Ulrike Davey (Bielefeld University, Germany), Prof Olivier Deschutter (Catholic University of Louvain), Mr Malcolm Sargent (Middlesex University, UK),

Standing: Dr Helena... ( Lisbon ), Timo Makkenen ( University of Helsinki ), Claire.. ( Marijen Gijsen (Maastricht University), Prof Delperee (Luxembourg), Shivaun Quinlivan (NUI, Galway), Dr Paul Lapllainen (Stockholm), Prof Jerome Bickenbach (WHO, Geneva), Prof Theresia Degener (University of Bochum, Germany), Dr Lisa Waddington (Maastrich University, Netherlands).

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INAUGURAL ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN LAW

The Law Faculty hosted the Inaugural Annual Distinguished Lecture in Law on Friday March 19th, 2004 at 7.00 pm in the Arts Millennium Building. It was given by Professor Chris McCrudden of Oxford University. The President of the Human Rights Commission of Ireland, Dr Maurice Manning, gave a formal response.

Professor McCrudden's talk was entitled 'Buying Social Justice - the Role of Law'. He is a leading international thinker on the relationship between law and social justice. Dr Manning set out the Commission's plans in the field of social justice. The talk was followed by a wine reception at 8.30 pm in the foyer of the Arts Millennium building.

From left: Professor James J. Ward, Vice-President for Physical Resources; Mary O'Riordan
Vice-President for Student Services & Human Resoures; and Professor Chris McCrudden, Oxford University.

From left: Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of NUI, Galway Law School; Mary O'Riordan
Vice-President for Student Services & Human Resources; Professor Chris McCrudden, Oxford University; and Cllr. Martin Quinn, Deputy Mayor of Galway.

The lecture is now available as a webcast thanks to the NUI, Galway Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching ( CELT). Windows Media Player is recommended to view this web broadcast, and is available as a free download here. PowerPoint slides of Professor McCrudden's talk are available here.

MEDIA

• Photo Gallery
• Text of Speeches and Conference Papers

OTHER EVENTS

Professor Gerard Quinn of the Law Faculty at NUI Galway led the RI (Rehabilitation International) delegation to the last session of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee drafting a new treaty on disability (New York, 24th May 24 - 4th June 2004). To link to the treaty drafting web site click here. For the RI position paper click here.

 

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