Bringing Ireland Up To Par: Incorporating the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

Authors

Katherine Lesch Bodnick

Abstract

In the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Irish government committed to incorporating the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“ECHR”) into Ireland's domestic law. Ireland's promise to promote human rights is consistent with the Good Friday Agreement. Although the government agreed to incorporate the ECHR by October 1999, it has yet to be incorporated because Attorney-General Michael McDowell and Minister of Justice John O'Donoghue could not decide how to do so. This Note examines the manner in which Ireland should incorporate the ECHR into Irish domestic law. Part I of this Note discusses background material related to the ECHR and the Irish Constitution of 1937. Part II evaluates disputed rights under the ECHR and the Irish Constitution and examines different methods of incorporation. Finally, Part III recommends constitutional incorporation of the ECHR, and concludes that incorporation would increase human rights protection in Ireland and would provide an objective source of unenumerated rights, subject to judicial review. In the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Irish government committed to incorporating the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“ECHR”) into Ireland's domestic law. Ireland's promise to promote human rights is consistent with the Good Friday Agreement. Although the government agreed to incorporate the ECHR by October 1999, it has yet to be incorporated because Attorney-General Michael McDowell and Minister of Justice John O'Donoghue could not decide how to do so. This Note examines the manner in which Ireland should incorporate the ECHR into Irish domestic law. Part I of this Note discusses background material related to the ECHR and the Irish Constitution of 1937. Part II evaluates disputed rights under the ECHR and the Irish Constitution and examines different methods of incorporation. Finally, Part III recommends constitutional incorporation of the ECHR, and concludes that incorporation would increase human rights protection in Ireland and would provide an objective source of unenumerated rights, subject to judicial review.

Recommended Citation

Katherine Lesch Bodnick, Bringing Ireland Up To Par: Incorporating the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 26 Fordham Int'l L.J. 396 (2002).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol26/iss2/8