Unmasking Extraordinary Renditions in the Context of Counter-Terrorism

This Article will show that the term “extraordinary rendition” is of short legal history and that its conception perverts a number of basic international law principles. In doing so, it will be shown that this process is a method counter-productive to long terms goals in the War on Terrorism. We can conclude therefore that both “rendition to justice” and “extraordinary rendition” bear little resemblance to the traditional use of the terms rendition or extradition - the recognised, legal methods of transferring a suspect of a criminal offence from one State to another. [T]he protections of an extradition Treaty and the rights it affords an accused can be seen as inherent justiciable. The use of the extradition process is an expression of State sovereignty, yet the guiding principles of double criminality and specialty ensure that the rights of the transferred person are also subject to protection and judicial scrutiny. It is clear that the nature of enforced disappearances is such as to attempt to avoid any legal process and human rights protection. In addition, it is noted that official denial of this practise as part of counter-terrorist policy and a lack of judicial oversight contribute to the view that U.S. intelligence agencies are aware of the illegality of the practise at international la

O'Keeffe v Ireland: the liability of states for failure to provide an effective system for the detection and prevention of child sexual abuse in education

In O'Keeffe v Ireland, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights found that Ireland failed to protect the applicant from sexual abuse suffered as a child in an Irish National School in 1973 and violated her rights under Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights. This note argues that the decision is important in expanding the Court's jurisprudence regarding positive obligations under Article 3 to child sexual abuse in a non‐state setting where there was no knowledge of a ‘real and immediate’ risk to the applicant. It also argues that the case raises concerns about the Court's methodology for the historical application of the Convention and about the interaction of Article 3 positive obligations with vicarious liability in common law tort regimes

Eportfolios as reflective assessment of social justice

This article explores the potential for eportfolios to contribute to the development of student critical awareness of social justice, including the role of the university as a social justice actor, through module assessment. It will critically address how eportfolios were introduced in 2019-20 to assess student reflection on social justice in a first year law module ‘Critical Approaches to Law’ at DCU. To date, there has been a slow adoption of eportfolios in Irish higher education (Farrell 2018). Although there is some evidence of reflective assessment in comparative legal education, especially in schools with an emphasis on socio-legal approaches to law, and in clinical legal education, there is limited analysis of eportfolio assessment in classroom-based or blended legal education, (Waye and Faulkner 2012) and none in the Irish context. The article will discuss the motivation to use eportfolios; the benefits, challenges and lessons learned in the design of the assessment, and the first time experience for the educator of marking and student experience of eportfolios. It assesses eportfolios as a mechanism for prompting student reflection and the development of critical thinking, (Farrell 2019) with a particular reflective focus on social justice and university education as a social justice experience. (Connell 2019). It queries the extent to which eportfolios enable students to incorporate prior learning experiences to their reflection, (Chen and Black 2010) and for students self-determine the parameters of their personal interaction with social justice questions raised by the experience in the module and their lived experience. (Brooman and Stirk 2020

Between rhetoric and reality: ten years of the United Nations Human Rights Council

2016 marks ten years since the foundation of the United Nations Human Rights Council and concludes Ireland's membership of the council between 2013 and 2015. This article reviews the experience of the Human Rights Council as an organ of the United Nations tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and preventing their violation. It examines the establishment and reviews the progress of the Human Rights Council in its first ten years of operation. It then highlights Ireland's role as a member of the council between 2013 and 2015. It identifies the value of the two resolutions of the council led by Ireland, on the protection of civil society space and on the prevention of early childhood morbidity and mortality; evaluates Ireland's role in the treatment of states as a member of the Human Rights Council

Odious debt and jus post bellum

Odious debt concerns the repudiation and cancellation of debt accrued by a State for ‘odious’ purposes. This article argues that odious debt can play a role in jus post bellum in lessening the financial burden placed on States who experience conflict and generate a clear standard for investors who seek to enforce a State’s obligations to repay its debts and other financial obligations after conflict. This article highlights several challenges inhibiting the translation of the proposal of odious debt into an international legal principle. It offers a conception of odious debt that seeks to resolve these challenges by aligning with other areas of public international law which operate concurrently. This article considers how international human rights law could give clear meaning to the contested term ‘odious’

Transitional justice and Ireland's legacy of historical abuse

This essay evaluates the application of transitional justice to the context of historical abuse in peaceful, consolidated democracies, in particular the Republic of Ireland. 1 Examining Ireland’s efforts at repairing its past from such a perspective reveals an unwillingness by state authorities and Christian churches and religious orders to embrace the necessity of fundamental social, legal, and political transformation when addressing widespread and systemic historical abuse. 2 In Irish efforts to address historical abuse across a range of contexts, power remains out of the hands of victim-survivors and of those traditionally marginalized in society. Instead, in agreement with Georges Balandier, I argue that “the supreme ruse of power is to allow itself to be contested ritually in order to consolidate itself more effectively.” 3 Recent state responses to historical abuse contribute to such a consolidation of power. Although public

Historical abuse and the statute of limitations

This article will assess the role of the statute of limitations in Irish law and examine the extent to which it impedes an effective remedy for victims and survivors of historical abuse. It will first identify the problem of historical abuse in Ireland and argue that while several non-judicial remedies have been created, a need persists to remedy and acknowledge historical abuse through litigation. It will then assess the Statute of Limitations in Irish law, contrast this position with the law in other common law jurisdictions, and note that Irish law denies victims and survivors the potential for a remedy and judicial acknowledgment of such abuse. The article will conclude by examining whether the Irish limitation regime could be challenged as contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights

The International Criminal Court: in the interests of transitional justice?

This chapter examines the relationship of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and transitional justice. It considers claims of how prosecutions contribute to the pursuit of accountability under different conceptions of transitional justice. Second, it examines the Rome Statute of the ICC and the different evaluative frameworks that can be used to assess its function. Third, it reviews the existing practice of the ICC, including the role of the Office of the Prosecutor in Africa, the Court’s response to victims and its use of reparations. The chapter also argues that, while the Rome Statute contains innovative provisions for victim participation and reparations to victims, realizing the potential of these provisions remains contingent on efficient and responsive management by the Court of the needs of victims, and depends on alignment and political and financial support from the international community

The European Court of Human Rights, transitional justice and historical abuse in consolidated democracies

In recent years, both transitional justice and the role of the European Court of Human Rights in dealing with historical abuses have evolved. Transitional justice has begun to address widespread or systemic human rights abuses outside of the contexts of armed conflict and authoritarian regimes. In three key recent judgments, El-Masri v Macedonia, Janowiec v Russia and O’Keeffe v Ireland, the Court has clarified and expanded its approach to addressing historical human rights violations relevant to transitional justice in significant, if inconsistent, ways. To date, there is no exploration of the relationship between transitional justice, historical abuse outside the contexts of armed conflict or authoritarian rule and the European Convention of Human Rights. This article seeks to address that gap by considering the potential opportunities and obstacles for the use of the Convention to address historical abuse in