Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights

Pat McInerney LL.B, LL.M, Solicitor, Attorney-at-Law (N.Y.)

E-mail:              pat.mcinerney@ul.ie
Tel:                   061 234803

Pat McInerney is a graduate of UL (LL.B 1999; LL.M 2009). He is also a qualified solicitor, having practised as such from qualification in 2004 until taking up a lecturing position in the University of Limerick in 2008. In addition, he has qualified (2004) and been admitted as an Attorney-at-Law in New York.  He is currently lecturing in the University of Limerick in such varied areas as Media Law, Land Law, Company Law and Legal System and Practice. Pat is currently undertaking a PhD in criminal justice through University College Cork, under the supervision of Dr. Shane Kilcommins. His PhD is entitled ‘Crime Control v Due process models of the criminal justice system and the right to silence: will restricting the right to silence produce better public protection whilst also securing justice and the protection of rights?’ His main research interests lie in the following areas: Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Criminology, Property Law and Company Law.

Publications

“The Irish Law on Adverse Possession: Pro Adverse Possessor or Paper Owner? A Moral or Public Policy Objective? –A Comparative Analysis” (2008) 13(2) C.P.L.J

“The Purchase Money Resulting Trust – Sufficient to Cater for the Property Rights of Cohabitants in Ireland? – Ireland and England Compared” (2008) 13(4) C.P.L.J

“Negligently Inflicted Psychological Harm and the ‘Sudden Shock’ Requirement – A Comparative Analysis” (2009) 13(3) Electronic Journal of Comparative Law http://www.ejcl.org/131/art133-6.pdf

“Do We Need a Jury? – Composition and Function of the Jury and the Trend away from Jury Trials in Serious Criminal Cases” (2009) 19(1) I.C.L.J. 9


Conference Papers

“Negligently Inflicted Psychological Harm and the ‘Sudden Shock’ Requirement – A Comparative Analysis”
Irish Society of Comparative Law Conference, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland on 28 February 2009

“Equality of Arms” between the Suspect Interrogated in Garda Custody and the Gardai? – Encroachments on the Right to Silence, the Proposed Safeguards for the Suspect and the Consequent Implications for Garda Accountability?
Forthcoming University of Limerick International Policing Conference, Strand Hotel, Limerick on 3/4 December 2009

Maria Helen Murphy graduated with a First Class Honours BCL (International) degree in 2008.  Through the UCC International Law programme she studied at Temple University, Philadelphia.  She returned to Temple to complete her masters, graduating magna cum laude and receiving Dean's List Honours.

She is currently researching, under the supervision of Professor Maeve McDonagh, the approach of the European Court of Human Rights in government surveillance cases and how this effects domestic privacy protection.  Her interest in privacy was bolstered through working with the Electronic Privacy Information Centre in Washington, DC.  

In 2009 she was awarded the William J Leen Postgraduate Scholarship and the President James Slattery Prize and Medal in Law. In 2010 she was awarded an IRCHSS Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship.

She has worked as a research assistant for Dr. Darius Whelan in UCC and Professor Duncan Hollis in Temple.  She is currently tutoring in EU Law.

Bill Murphy

Bill Murphy graduated from the Evening Law class in 2009 with a First Class honours BCL. A published novelist, screenwriter and radio dramatist Bill is combining his interest in the media and law by researching Section 26 of the Defamation Act 2009. His LLM thesis, under the supervision of Professor Steve Hedley, aims to trace the development of the Public Interest defence in libel law and whether the new provision strikes an adequate balance between the Constitutional and ECHR imperatives of freedom of expression and protection of reputation.

Verona Ní Dhrisceoil

Verona Ní Dhrisceoil, graduated from UCC with a Law and Irish Degree in 2004 and an LLM in Criminal Justice (First Class Honours) in 2005. She worked with the Law Reform Commission in 2007/08 and is the principal researcher of the Commission’s Report Defences in the Criminal Law. Verona is also co-author of the Detention of Children: International Standards and Best Practice published by the Irish Penal Reform Trust in 2009.

Verona began her PhD study in September 2008. The working title of her thesis is “Exploring Language Rights and the role of law in the future of the Irish Language”. She is pursuing her doctoral study on a full-time basis and is being supervised by Dr. Siobhan Mullally. She is the recipient of a Higher Education Authority (HEA) Scholarship to carry out research in the area of Law and Irish and/or language rights. Verona is currently attending the University of Notre Dame as a Teaching Scholar having been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2009.

Fiona Broughton

Fiona Broughton graduated with a BCL (Law and French) from UCC in 2005. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Education and a First Class Honours Masters Degree from University College Cork. Fiona’s main research interest is in the area of children’s rights. Her PhD research analyses the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the unborn child and demonstrates the actual and potential impact of the Convention on Ireland’s unborn children. Fiona is conducting her doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Ursula Kilkelly and holds a Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship as well as the Comyn Kelleher Tobin Graduate Bursary.

Joanne Blennerhassett

E-mail: joanne.blennerhassett@ucd.ie

Joanne Blennerhassett is pursuing her doctoral thesis on mass harm redress, class actions and environmental law under the supervision of Dr. Owen McIntyre.  Joanne has been a lecturer in UCD Law School since 2003.  She holds an LLB from Trinity, an LLM from UCD and has practiced as a solicitor.  Further details of her research is available at http://www.ucd.ie/law/staff/joanneblennerhassett/

Sinéad Ring, BCL (Law and German), LLM (Criminal Justice)

Email: s.ring@student.ucc.ie
 

Sinéad Ring holds a first class honours from BCL (Law and German), and an LLM in Criminal Justice (Clinical) from UCC. Her PhD title is “Due Process on Trial: Fair Trial Protections in Delayed Prosecutions for Childhood Sexual Abuse.” She is supervised by Professor Caroline Fennell. Sinéad was awarded an IRCHSS Postgraduate scholarship in 2008. In Summer 2009 she was a Visiting Researcher at Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto. In Spring 2010 she was a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School, where she researched constructions of complainant credibility in U.S. historic child sex abuse cases. Her supervisor at Harvard was Professor Carol Steiker. Her work has been published by the Judicial Studies Institute Journal (December 2009), by First Law Criminal Law Updates (May 2009) as well as the Irish Student Law Review. Prior to commencing her PhD studies, Sinéad was the Principal Legal Researcher on the Law Reform Commission’s Report on Prosecution Appeals and Pre-Trial Hearings (2006). She has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences, including the Society of Legal Scholars, the Socio-Legal Studies Association and the European Society of Criminology.

Conference Papers

'An analysis of the adequacy of current law and state policies to ensure proper provision for the vulnerable spouse in divorce'.

Mastering Law: Conflicts, Challenges and Solutions in Today's Society'. LLM Conference Law 3 June 2010, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Published Article

'The policy and legislative context of special educational rights' [2009] 16 Irish Law Times 27.
 

Education

2009-2010: LLM by Research. Department of Law, University College Cork.

LLM Project: 'An analysis of the adequacy of current law and state policies to ensure proper provision for the vulnerable spouse in divorce'.

 
2008-2009: Final Examination - 1. Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

Result: All Eight FE-1 Exams Passed

2007 -2008: MASTERS in Social Policy. Department of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork.

Thesis: 'An analysis of the educational provisions provided by the state for children with autism under their Constitutional and Statutory rights'.

Result: First Class Honours - Highest in Class.

2002-2005: BA (Legal Science), National University of Ireland, Galway.

Result: Second Class Honours Grade 1

Máire Olivia Reidy obtained both her B.C.L. and LL.M degrees from University College Cork in 1999 and 2000 respectively and is now undertaking a PhD on the Regulation of Health Service Providers in Ireland with a view to proposing reform of the current system. While completing her LL.M thesis on the physical punishment of children, Máire also worked as a teaching assistant in the School of Law in the University of Limerick . She then went on to work as a Judicial Researcher with the Courts Service and as a Senior Judicial Researcher, carrying out legal research on complex issues of law for senior members of the Irish judiciary, including members of the Supreme Court bench. Upon being called to the Bar in 2003, Máire practiced both in Dublin and on the South Western Circuits before returning to work for the Courts Service in 2008 as a Judicial Fellow assigned to Mr. Justice Peter Kelly in the Commercial Court.

In addition to her experience in practice, she has lectured in a variety of legal subjects including medical law, employment law and company law in the University of Limerick, Dublin Institute of Technology and Dublin City University and is now tutoring criminal law in University College Cork. Máire is a member of the Working Group on Medical Negligence and Periodical Payments set up by the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns in 2010 to look into the payment of compensation in catastrophic injury cases and the reform of medical negligence litigation. She has co-authored articles on disclosure in criminal trials with Mr. Justice Peter Charleton which were published in the Irish Criminal Law Journal in 2010.

John Lombard

Email: 109220556@umail.ucc.ie

John Lombard graduated with an LLB (Law and European Studies) from UL in 2009 and an LLM (e-Law) from UCC in 2010. His LLM thesis focused on the challenges associated with the patenting of nanomedicine in Europe. He is currently researching, under the supervision of Dr. Mary Donnelly, the role of the law in end-of-life care. This project involves examination of issues in palliative medicine as well as issues of assisted and accomplished suicide. John’s main research interests include: Constitutional Law, Medical Law, European Law and Company Law.

Publications

“Can the State Intervene in Cases of Maternal/Foetal Conflict?” (2010) 17 Irish Student Law Review 129

“Law Reform Update” (2010) 10(2) Judicial Studies Institute Journal [forthcoming] (with Douglas Cubie)

Conference Papers

“The Challenges of Maternal/Foetal Conflict; Why the law needs to reflect in order to move forward” Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights Postgraduate Conference, University College Cork, 29 April 2010.

“Therapeutic Jurisprudence: A New Direction for the Law” Mastering Law: Conflicts, Challenges and Solutions in Today’s Society, NUI Galway, 3 – 4 June 2010.

Originally from Scotland, Dug Cubie graduated with an LL.B (Hons) in Scottish and International Law from the University of Dundee in 1998, and with a First Class LL.M (International) from the University of Cambridge in 2000. Dug subsequently worked in refugee protection, including with the Irish Refugee Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal and the Republic of Congo, and with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Dublin. Most recently, Dug worked for the Irish Red Cross, in particular covering the Indian Ocean Tsunami Relief and Recovery Programme.

Dug’s main research interests are in the areas of humanitarian assistance, international development and refugee protection. His PhD research analyses the right to humanitarian assistance following natural and man-made disasters, and the potential codification of these rights into international law. Dug is conducting his doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Siobhan Mullally and Dr. Siobhan Wills, and holds a Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship as well as the Comyn Kelleher Tobin Graduate Bursary.

Books:

• Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law in Ireland: Cases and Materials, D. Cubie & F. Ryan, Thomson/ Roundhall, Dublin (November 2004)
• Practitioner Commentaries on the EU Acquis on Asylum, J. van der Klaauw, W. Buchhorn, S. Anagnost, D. Cubie & C. Pragnell, European Commission, Vienna (2000)

Articles and reports:

• "Law Reform Update" (2010) 10(2) Judicial Studies Institute Journal (forthcoming) (with John Lombard)
• “Building Systemic Solutions to Educational Challenges Faced by Refugee Children and Youth: Report on the ISS-Burnaby School Board Multi-Year Project for Afghan Refugee Children and Youth (2004-2007)”, D. Cubie, Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (June 2007)
• “New Beginnings: Insights of Government-Assisted Refugees in British Columbia into their Settlement Outcomes”, D. Cubie, Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (December 2006)
• “The Refugee Definition – a Full and Inclusive Application of the Geneva Convention”, D. Cubie [2001] 3(2) P&P, Journal of Practice and Procedure
• “The Refugee Act 1996 (as amended): the Pressure of Time”, D. Cubie [2001] 3(1) P&P, Journal of Practice and Procedure

 Conference papers and blog postings:

• “The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: what is the appropriate international legal framework for humanitarian responses to natural and human-made disasters?”, Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference, Migration Law strand, Cambridge , 5-8th September 2011
• “Protection of Human Rights in Disasters: the limits of State sovereignty”, UCC Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights Postgraduate Conference, 28th April 2011
•  “Protection of Human Rights in Disasters: the limits of State sovereignty”, Scottish Young Legal Researchers Colloquium, University of Dundee , 22nd April 2011
• “What role for lawyers in disasters?”, Human Rights in Ireland blog, 4th April 2011
• “Moving from a Food Aid Convention to a Food Assistance Convention”, Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights blog, University College Cork, 15th March 2011

Anna Marie Brennan

Anna Marie Brennan B.C.L. (Hons) (Law and Irish), LL.B. (Hons), LL.M. (First Class Honours) is a PhD Candidate in University College Cork. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of the 8th and 9th editions of the Cork Online Law Review and has worked in the Office of the Attorney General, the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office. In 2009, Anna Marie was short listed for the Matheson Ormsby Prentice prize in Information Technology Law and in 2006 she was the joint winner of Bréagchúirt Uí Dhálaigh, a moot court through the medium of Irish. Her research interests are mainly in the areas of International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law. Anna Marie is conducting her doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Fiona Donson and Dr. Siobhan Wills. Her doctoral research analyses the accountability of Transnational Armed Groups under International Law for attacking civilians. The first part of the project examines the substantive obligations Transnational Armed Groups must observe under International Law and the second part proposes an international legal framework for holding members of Transnational Armed Groups accountable for breaching those obligations when they attack civilians. Anna Marie holds a UCC Law Faculty PhD Scholarship and was awarded the President James Slattery Prize and Medal in Law in February 2011.

Publications:

“Racial Bias in Criminal Trial Juries: An Irish Perspective” [2010] 20(2) Irish Criminal Law Journal 51.

“The Efficiency and Effectiveness of the WTO Dispute Settlement System and the Need for its Reform: An Irish Perspective” [2010] 17 (7) Commercial Law Practitioner 127.

“The Mental Health Act 2001 and the Best Interests Principle: A Revolutionary Step in the Improvement of Mental Health Law in Ireland ?” [2010] 19 Irish Law Times 290.

“The Copyrightability of Computer Software in Ireland : The Problem of Non-Literal Copying” [2010] 4(1) Irish Business Law Quarterly 1.

“The Appeal Mechanism for Addressing Post-Verdict Allegations of Juror Racial Bias in Ireland ” [2010] 8 Criminal Law Online Service 81.

“The Garda Diversion Programme and the Juvenile Offender: The Dilemma of Due Process Rights” [2011] 21(4) I.C.L.J. (forthcoming).

“The Special and Differential Treatment Mechanism and the WTO: Cultivating Trade Inequality for Developing Countries?” [2011] 14 Trinity College Law Review (forthcoming).

“The Patenting of Software in Ireland : The Pros and Cons” [2011] 18(2) Commercial Law Practitioner (forthcoming). 

Conference Papers:

“Racial Bias in Criminal Trial Juries: An Irish Perspective,” CCJHR 4th Annual Postgraduate Law Conference, University College Cork (29th April 2010).

“The Rationale for Criminalising Transnational Armed Groups under International Law,” Fifth International Graduate Legal Research Conference, King’s College London (8th April 2011).

“Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions and Transnational Armed Groups: Exploring the Threshold of Armed Conflict” SLSA Annual Conference 2011, Sussex Law School (12-14 April 2011).

The objective of Sarah's doctoral research project is to inform the legal promise of respect for children’s views (as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child) within decision-making towards peace agreements. Using the peace processes of N. Ireland and South Africa as case studies, the research aims to illuminate the challenges of and possibilities for child-inclusive peace processes. Through her professional life, Sarah has practical experience of the challenges of securing implementation of international human rights standards at national level, and the centrality of rights-based decision-making processes to their efficacious implementation. In this respect, Sarah has worked as a legal researcher and project coordinator with the International Labour Office (ILO) at Headquarters (Geneva, Switzerland), the sub-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) and the Area Office for Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia (Lusaka, Zambia). She has also worked on a consultancy basis with a range of organisations such as the African Child Policy Forum (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and on a pro-bono basis with organisations such as Defence for Children International-International Secretariat (Geneva, Switzerland).

Email: sarahmfield@gmail.com

Elena Knyazeva is from the Russian Federation (Siberian Federal District, Krasnoyarsk ). She obtained her LLB and LLM Degrees from Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University . Elena also completed her Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies Degree at Bodø University College, Norway . She was a researcher in the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law of the Arctic Centre ( University of Lapland, Finland ) in 2007/08.

The working title of her PhD thesis is “The Protection of Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples within the Russian Federation under International Human Rights Law”. Elena is pursuing her doctoral study on a full-time basis and is working under the supervision of Dr. Siobhán Mullally and Dr. Darren O’Donovan.

She holds Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship as well as the Global Supplementary Grant from the Open Society Institute. In 2010 she was awarded a Government of Ireland International Scholarship.

Rachel Hanly graduated from UCC with a B.C.L. (Hons) in 2008 and a First Class Honours LL.M. degree in 2009.

Her doctoral research examines the difficulties posed to the Irish legal and healthcare systems by hospital-acquired infection (HAI). There is a clear requirement for both a legal remedy for the victims of HAI, but also to provide an incentive to hospitals to implement effective structures to promote patient safety and reduce the rates of HAI.  This project will explore potential avenues of redress for victims of HAI , with particular reference to the tort system. It is intended to critically analyse the challenges involved in litigating HAI claims and advocate proposals for reform. She is conducting her doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Áine Ryall.

Rachel holds a Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship and the Ronan Daly Jermyn Scholarship. She is currently a teaching assistant in the Law of Torts and a researcher for the Child Law Clinic in the Faculty of Law.  Rachel was Editor-in-Chief of the eighth edition (2008/2009) and House Style Editor of the tenth edition (2010/2011) of the Cork Online Law Review.

 

Publications

“Hospital-Acquired Infection: The Challenges for the Law of Negligence” (2010) 32 Dublin University Law Journal 64-94.

Conference Papers

“Direct Liability of Hospitals in Hospital-Acquired Infection Actions in Ireland and the UK” Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Sussex, 12 April 2011.

“Sign on the Dotted Line: Medical Power, Lay Compliance” British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference 2010, Durham University, 2 September 2010 (with Teresa Graham and Anne Grace).

Anne Neylon graduated from NUI Galway in 2006 with BCL (Hons) and in 2008 from UCC with a first class honours LL.M in Criminal Justice. She has worked for the Irish Refugee Council as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ international office in Ireland .

Her research examines access to a durable residence status of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, and whether it should be contingent upon the fulfilment of certain criteria. Her thesis focuses on the use of integration requirements as a condition for granting a durable residence status to such groups. Her thesis supervisor is Dr Siobhán Mullally.

In 2011, she was the awarded of the Doctoral Student Research Award by the International Council for Canadian Studies in conjunction with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. As a result, she has been a Visiting Doctoral Student at the University of Toronto and at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University . In October 2011, she was a Visiting Study Fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University . She was the recipient of a UCC Law Faculty Scholarship and the Aidan Synnott Travel Bursary. She has tutored EU Law and Jurisprudence. She has also been a guest lecturer for the MA in Contemporary Migration and Diaspora Studies.