The Eagle: Trinity Law Gazette Volume 3, Issue 1

Welcome Studying Law in Trinity encompasses much more than simply going to lectures and writing essays. There is a real sense of community in the Law School; students are encouraged to debate and challenge the opinions of their lecturers, to develop their own interests, and to get to know people across the four years. The Eagle, now in its third year, aims to encapsulate this and to showcase all that makes the Law School really special.

It provides a platform for students to write about the political and legal issues of interest to them, to make their opinions heard and generate debate. The articles published in this issue deal with a broad range of different topics, providing an opportunity for the authors to give their own perspective on some of the most important political developments that have occurred in recent years.

However, it is important to note that our enjoyment of our time in Trinity extends beyond academics. As we near the end of our time here, some of our happiest

memories include hiking through Howth with the lecturers, wearing Christmas jumpers in Oran Doyle’s Constitutional Law lecture and laughing and singing along at the Cabaret. The Social Section aims to demonstrate this, providing an insight into some of the amazing events that have taken place this semester. It also highlights the work done by the main legal societies, including FLAC, the Law Soc and ELSA. It has been an exciting and busy semester for the Law School, and it is hoped that this issue will help students both past and present to remember and appreciate some of the highlights. We would like to extend a thank you to Allen and Overy for their kind sponsorship and to each member of the Editorial Board, in particular Padraic and Aisling, without whom this issue of the Eagle could not have been published.

Maeve & Maeve

Editorial Board Joint Editors-in-Chief Maeve McDonough Maeve Lowry

Treasurer Padraic Daly Social Editor

Aisling Hourihane

Contents Erasmus Stories: My Year in Strasbourg Brexit: Does every Cloud have...

Mercy Law Resource Centre Postal Voting: Can it Deliver?

Guilty Until Proven Innocent...

The Undergraduate Awards Experience Social Section

Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12

Editorial Board Emma Boylan Laura Finn Diarmuid Ó hUallacháin Martin Block Caoimhe Daly Aisling Marren

Photographer Pavel Rozman All ideas and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not The Eagle.

have vivid memories of the 2014 CAO deadline. The most enduring one is the feeling that I was trapped in a scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Having broken into the Department of Mysteries, some schoolchildren reach a black circular room surrounded by handleless doors lining a dark wall. Only one leads to their destination, but with each door they try, the wall rotates, blurring into obscurity and leaving them no nearer their goal. Navigating sheepishly through CareersPortal.ie for the thousandth time, I was attempting a similar shot in the dark. After a deeply misguided foray through the door of veterinary science, I settled on Law and French. “At least I’ll get to go on Erasmus”, I told myself.

During my freshman years Erasmus was a distant speck rarely breaking the horizon of my consciousness.

And that is where it stayed. I never fully grasped that I wasn’t going to live in the house I had known all my life, until one day in September I looked up to find a woman asking me to place my tray-table in an upright position as the Captain was beginning the descent into Strasbourg Airport. “Oh wow! This is it. Time to start living.”

The first week of lectures at the University of Strasbourg was a draining reality check. The temperature hovered around the mid-thirties, but the real challenge was keeping up with course material in my third language. Beyond the lecture theatres the linguistic battle was no less fierce. Heroic efforts were required to suppress the rogue “cúpla focail” that would invariably contrive to derail any attempt to resemble a coherent and sane human being.

Little by little I found my feet amidst the Francophones, and soon French was no longer a barrier to learning or socialising.

As you walk through Trinity the history of the place seems to weigh upon the air. The centuries of thought radiate from the rows of timeless texts. While few places can rival this imposing aura the law school in Strasbourg has its own exuberant charm. It too boasts a rich scholarly tradition. The celebrated constitutional jurist, Carré de Malberg, is amongst its most notable exports.

Academically the most valuable aspect of studying in France is the chance to immerse myself in the civil law tradition.

Appreciating the historical primacy of legislation and its wider impact on the French legal system is best done from within. Indeed this provides an effective vantage point from which to better understand the peculiarities of the common law. The French academic approach to legal writing is also markedly more formalistic than that taken in Trinity. In an increasingly interconnected world it can only be useful to understand the academic environment in which lawyers in other jurisdictions have honed their skills.

I would highly recommend Strasbourg as a place to study.

But the real magic of the Erasmus journey is found in the people you meet and the things you do together. The international Erasmus contingent is a collection of people who have taken very different paths to arrive at this juncture. As you learn the stories of the people you meet you begin to look back into your own origins with fresh eyes. With every new encounter you get a clearer picture of your place in the world. The beauty of this experience strikes you in quiet moments, like the first time you catch yourself referring to your single room accommodation as “home”. Going on Erasmus forces you to create a parallel existence from everything you knew before. Ireland has never felt so far away, but I feel no less at home.

ince Brexit’s formal announcement it has sparked immense political debate. From council estates to upmarket suburbs in West London, everybody has a different stance on this provocative subject. The people have voted and indeed have spoken, with the leave side merely scraping over the halfway line to secure an independent UK. Abraham Lincoln once said that “the ballot is stronger than the bullet” and ultimately, the UK is now left in a rather unstable position which has stunned the European community. This article endeavours to reflect on a myriad of business law issues which are currently and potentially facing Britain over the coming years.

Firstly, in the area of intellectual property, numerous changes are anticipated. With regard to patents, it was on the cards to introduce a Unitary Patent, an idea which would have given patent protection in the majority of European States apart from Croatia, Portugal and Spain. When the UK eventually terminates its relationship with the European Union (EU), it could cause lengthy delays to the introduction of such a scheme and indeed may render it unviable. Moreover, the Supplementary Protection Certificate will no longer be valid in the United Kingdom. Also, the European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) scheme will no longer be applicable to UK law. In terms of copyright law, lawyers anticipate that the UK will create their own copyright laws and policies, which would be based on existing EU laws. It will be most interesting to see how the UK will proceed with concerns in this area.

Secondly, in terms of employment law, employers with trade bases in the UK have a potential cause for concern for radical amendments of current legislation or

alternatively, imposition of employment laws which could be difficult to comply with. There could indeed be specific restrictions enacted which would limit the free movement of employees; this, in particular, could have serious implications for Irish firms who have a strong nexus with the UK. It is also unclear as to how Brexit will affect the overall working week pattern and other employment entitlements, such as sick leave provisions and annual holidays. There is no indication as to how Brexit will impact pensions schemes for both UK and foreign workers. It is assumed that there will be little reform of pensions initially, however it is possible that this may gradually change over time. A question also arises as to whether the UK will continue to follow EU discrimination law directives or enact their own legislation of a similar standard.

Thirdly, in respect of competition law, the UK have previously adhered to EU Competition Law. They also have their own substantive competition law regime, which has in the past coincided with EU law. It has also been questioned as to how the judiciary would interpret UK competition law policies, which have been predominantly based on EU competition law.

Will the UK adhere to both past and future EU case law? The area of contracts also remains slightly blurred. For instance, a presence in the EU could be imperative for various companies or organisations in the performance of certain contracts.

Likewise regarding tender ships, Brexit will have a knock on effect on English traders who have enjoyed access to a wide trading bloc for some time.

Fourth, it is likely that the UK will focus on developing new trade links with counties outside the EU. For instance, they could become members of the European Free Trade Association which is comprised of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. As the UK is currently the sixth largest economy in the world, it is natural that they will desire to retain a peak position in the rankings. The UK now has more scope and liberty to trade globally. However, they could also be

subject to customs duties to trade even with neighbouring countries. The UK would also have the authority to create their own competition policy, which would outline their future objectives in respect of trading. Again, it will certainly be fascinating to see how the UK will respond to this enigma regarding trade law and to see whether the outcome will be more profitable for traders than prior to Brexit or not.

Finally, in order to terminate their membership of the EU, the UK must adhere to the clauses of Article 50 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

This is a two-year withdrawal process, which is rigidly enforced and failure to comply would equate to a breach of international law. As long as the UK Government has not invoked Article 50, the UK stays a member of the EU and hence must continue to fulfil all EU treaties. Based on Theresa May’s proposals, it seems most likely that the UK will not trigger Article 50 until early 2017. The negotiation period will involve preparing a comprehensive withdrawal agreement between both parties (the UK and the European Council). Issues such as the UK’s future relationship and interaction with the EU will be taken into account. Britain must consider the extent of trading and interaction they wish to have with the EU and may review other non-EU countries’ models such as those in Canada, Norway, Switzerland or Turkey or indeed the World Trade Organisation’s model.

In essence, Brexit will have some significant positive and negative consequences on the UK in general, but particularly in the area of business law. I would consider trade law as perhaps the most profound challenge facing the UK as this is quite an unpredictable area and an incorrect approach to trade policies could have significant repercussions for the UK’s economy. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see the extent of these consequences on all legislation and assess how radical these changes will be. This article has provided an insight into the various business law issues which remain to be decided; there are certainly many other potential concerns ranging from procurement law to consumer law, from data protection law to insolvency law and from financial regulation to funds law. Moving forward, the UK certainly has the arduous task of almost reinventing their country’s business laws and it will be enthralling to see whether or not there will be a silver lining to this very large cloud.

The team at the centre were incredibly welcoming and kind.

As a law student I learned so much and I got to take part in all the centre’s work, including meeting clients, preparing briefs, policy research, and launching the annual report.

Before working at the centre, I was unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy involved in seeking the State’s help with one’s housing situation – endless forms to be filled out, brusque refusals without any reasons given, Kafkaesque procedures, and a complete lack of pragmatism and commonsense. It often felt like councils would rather waste hours of employee time and massive sums in legal fees than provide a solution, even when our clients had a legitimate claim.

s law students, we hear a lot about ‘corporate social responsibility’, ‘not-for-profits’, and ‘good causes’. We rarely look at these phrases more deeply. What does ‘social responsibility’ mean? What makes a ‘good cause’ good? If we’re not looking for profit, what are we aiming for?

Sometimes ‘charity work’ can feel like a box to be ticked or a PR exercise. Being inside the ‘Trinity bubble’, I’ve definitely been guilty of this myself. However, this summer, I got had the opportunity to intern at Mercy Law Resource Centre and got an intense wake-up call about the suffering of one of the most vulnerable groups in society Mercy Law is a free legal advice centre that focuses on helping the homeless and those at risk of homelessness. The centre provides legal assistance directly to clients and also does policy work to improve the situation of homeless people. Maeve Regan, the managing solicitor, has made submissions to the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness and the Human Rights Council of the UN, arguing for adding a right to housing to the Constitution.

I also had no idea just how wasteful the State’s current emergency accommodation system is. The councils won’t add €20 per week to someone’s housing assistance payment, so that person ends up on the streets. When they seek shelter for the night, the council pays for them to be put up in a hotel or hostel at perhaps €70 per night. Not only is this a waste of money, it means that a homeless person must ring each night to hear where they will be staying, never knowing where they’ll be tomorrow. They are sent all over Dublin and sometimes as far as Meath or Carlow. This makes it impossible for them to go to work and means their children miss school.

Mercy Law is grounded in the community it assists; it shares a premises with Sophia Housing, a supported residence for vulnerable people, and facilitates legal clinics in the local area.

The work is always focused on the clients and their needs.

People who have lost their home encounter a stream of indignities and rejections and find themselves more and more powerless. Mercy’s clients have often suffered more in the past few weeks than many of us have in our whole lives. They are in desperate need of an advocate, someone to fight their corner.

To return to the questions at the beginning of this article, I think the core of any charitable enterprises shouldn’t be defined negatively. Not only for our own gain, not merely to look good,

but rather what are we doing it for? We don’t talk much about mercy these days, but I think we need to put it front and centre as our goal. If we create a change in ourselves, if we affirm and promote the equal dignity and importance of every individual, if we can embody mercy and compassion to those suffering around us, we will have a compass for all our efforts.

Everyone has heard the jokes about ruthless lawyers and our lack of a conscience. Interestingly, Shakespeare’s famous quote comes from a lawyer arguing a case at trial. We shouldn’t be too cynical to find our values and stick to them.

We should use the law as a vehicle for good rather than an end in itself. If the law is to mean anything, it must give a voice and an advocate to those most in need of justice.

In today’s Ireland, Shakespeare’s beautiful image has a sting in the tail. 'It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven on the place beneath.' ‘Gentle rain’ makes sense to those who hear the rain pattering on the roof from a warm bed. But for hundreds of people around Dublin, rain is a nightly torture, soaking and freezing them as they try to get a few minutes’ sleep. For thousands more, it’s a terrifying reminder that they are one overdue bill or unforeseen expense away from being cast out in the elements. Mercy Law Resource Centre is doing an amazing job in fighting injustice and deserves our support.

are small increases in postal voting (up to about 5%) while others find that the introduction of postal voting reduces the number of ballots cast. Whether or not this decline is a result of a general downward trend in voter turnout is ambiguous.

ith a decline in voting participation in many parts of the world in recent years, political scientists and policy makers are always considering new ways to encourage people to vote.

Postal voting simply means the returning of a citizen’s ballot paper by post from within his or her own constituency. Postal voting is consistently put forward as an option to enhance voter turnout. Voters in parts of the United States and voters across Switzerland have access to postal voting.

The introduction of postal voting appears to have many advantages. It can reduce the non-cognitive costs of voting.

Voters can reduce some of the logistical costs of voting such as transport costs and the time element it takes to vote. Citizens can also fill in postal votes from the comfort of their own home, which enfranchises older or less mobile people as they do not have the difficulties and costs of travelling to a polling station. On the other hand a certain social pressure is removed when people no longer have to turn up to the polls and prove they are carrying out their so-called “civic duty”.

In the United States, the states of Oregon, Washington and parts of California have introduced postal voting as a mechanism to increase voter turnout. The effect of postal voting in the US has been found to depend on a number of factors including the salience of elections, the demographic of people in the area and whether all-mail elections are introduced compared to optional postal voting. Reviews of postal voting by scholars has been a contentious issue; some find that there

The question of whether postal voting increases voter turnout is therefore complex. There are however some assertions that can be made. Firstly, on its own postal voting is not a sufficient remedy to treat declining voter participation. Postal voting alone will not lead to a dramatic increase in citizens’ political participation as was previously assumed by policymakers. Secondly, policymakers have a difficult issue to deal with, as there is no tried and tested way of increasing voter turnout. Thirdly, cognitive costs play a significant role in people’s willingness to turn out to vote and it is accepted that these costs are impossible to eliminate.

However, there is a case to be made for allowing people to vote by post. Intuitively it makes sense, in a world where there are declining numbers of people voting, to give individuals as many options as possible to vote, perhaps even including the introduction of online voting. Institutions will never be able to fully reduce the cognitive costs of voting which appear to be a significant factor in people choosing whether to vote or not. Therefore, in an increasingly complex and modern society where people face many distractions in their day-today lives, the best policymakers can do is to give people as many options as possible to vote in the hope that it is possible to prevent further decline in the number of people casting their ballots.

he question of whether those accused of sex crimes should remain anonymous until proven guilty is now at the heart of a debate which is raging amongst MPs in Westminster.

This has emerged, in particular, from recent investigations of British celebrities and has led to a deafening call for people arrested for sexual offences to be given the right to remain anonymous until they are charged.

This controversy also highlights the differences between anonymity laws here, in Ireland, and in England and Wales.

Irish law has a long established practice of demanding complete anonymity in sexual offence cases before conviction.

Here, a person is only named if proven guilty and then only if it does not identify the victim, unless the victim waives their right to anonymity.

Recent incidents in England reflect a need for a change in the state of the law. One high profile case is that of Sir Cliff Richard, who had his home raided by South Yorkshire Police and the event broadcast live on the BBC. Police named him as a suspected paedophile before he had even been interviewed. He was never charged. Sir Cliff is now preparing to sue both the police and the BBC, despite receiving apologies from both bodies. The damage had already been done, his reputation having been tarnished by insinuation.

A lesser known case is that of BBC radio broadcaster Paul Gambaccini. He was kept on police bail for 12 months and reported to have suffered damages of £200,000 in lost earnings and legal fees as a result of an allegation of historic sex abuse.

He was unable to continue working during the period due to publicity surrounding the allegation, finally to be told after a full, distressing year that he would not be charged in relation to any offence. In England and Wales a suspect in criminal law is supposedly innocent until proven guilty, a factor which is reinforced by Article 6(2) of the European Convention of Human Rights. In reality, however, the doctrine is extremely

difficult to protect in the modern world of media where suspects are immediately identified and viewed by the public with suspicious inferences of ‘no smoke without fire’. In many instances the consequences of these media reports have developed into the form of a celebrity witch hunt; this occurred in particularly following allegations of sexual offences against children in the cases of Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris.

There is a strong argument that celebrities have a lot more to lose than ordinary individuals when their name and details of the accusations are revealed to the public. A celebrity relies on their reputation with the public for their livelihood, whether they are an international pop star or a local radio presenter. As soon as any allegations of sexual impropriety are made against them their career is suspended and in most cases they will suffer profound and lasting damage.

As unjust as it may seem, there are not many broadcasting companies, if any, that will want to employ a presenter who had been accused of sexual abuse, even if they have been totally exonerated in court. One only has to look at the case of veteran BBC DJ Tony Blackburn who was sacked over his evidence relating to Dame Janet Smith’s investigation into the BBC's conduct during the years Jimmy Savile worked there - it was said his evidence “fell short” of the standards demanded.

He is now set to return to the BBC, eight months after his acrimonious departure.

The media cite that there is a public interest in identifying celebrity defendants and claim that if they were legally prevented from exposing the identity of accused individuals this would discourage other victims of sexual offences by celebrities to come forward. But why should celebrities be treated any differently than non-celebrities? And how is it possible to distinguish between who is famous and who is not?

There is no doubt that there are recognisable adverse and sometimes catastrophic consequences for the innocently accused, as has been show in some of the high profile cases mentioned. However, as a final note, it must be asked whether the maintenance of a celebrity’s career and personal life can be deemed more valuable or important than that of the average defendant, or indeed, the citizen victim?

rinity College, Dublin. Cambridge University. Stanford.

The University of Hong Kong. James Cooke, Singapore Nanyang TU. What unites each of these centres of academic excellence, and so many more? In fact, it is none other than the world's largest and arguably most prestigious academic awards programme - the Undergraduate Awards.

Commended Entrants in the 2016 Programme from across the globe. In early November, myself, other Irish Winners and an influx of the world's brightest and best undergraduate students from across the globe converging on an unsuspecting Dublin for the UA Global Summit, a unique four-day experience where we were given the opportunity to meet and greet one another, and to make lifelong friends with a truly international group of similarly minded, high-potential scholars. This year, like every other, the UA Global Summit attracted an esteemed guest speaker list, with recent years having seen such esteemeed speakers as President Michael D. Higgins, Professor Fiona de Londras, Professor Elyn Saks and Mae Jemison, to mention but a few.

Referred to as nothing less than the "ultimate champion for high-potential undergraduates", the Undergraduate Awards (UA) is the world's largest awards programme dedicated solely to academia. Its Mission 'To Inspire', its Vision a 'Culture of Academic Excellence' and its Values comprising Innovation, Collaboration, and Ambition, among others, the UA is an incredibly unique and unforgettable experience which, quite The Undergraduate Awards is a truly unique and rewarding experience which celebrates and supports the brightest and most frankly, you would be simply foolish to overlook. innovative scholars and their internationally renowned research in What are the Undergraduate Awards? In short, the UA a variety of fields across the world. Submission is easy - simply comprises a uniquely pan-discipline and diverse organisation submit your papers online on the UA website for it to be assessed which seeks to provide the top performing students from by some of the world's leading academics and experts in their around the world with the diverse network, academic support field. You've done the work, now all you need to do is reach for and scholarly opportunities they require to not only raise their the recognition you have earned, and the support you deserve. academic career profiles, but also, and perhaps more The Undergraduate Awards excel at providing both. importantly, to further enhance their chosen career paths through celebration and recognition of their most innovative coursework and academic projects. In 2016 alone, a whopping 5,514 submissions were made to the UA Judging Panel from across the globe, covering a variety of diverse disciplines. Each year, a handful of these students are lucky enough to be announced as Global or Regional Winners for their discipline, and are given the unique opportunitiy to have their work published in the Undergraduate Journal, an esteemed collection of academic writings circulated internationally.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to be announced as the Regional Winner in Law for the Island of Ireland for my paper entitled 'Sex, Secrecy, & the Right to Know: The Abriged Place of the Doctor's Duty of Confidentiality in Modern Medical Law & Ethics', having been shortlisted to an esteemed list of Highly

From intellectual speakers to the more rambunctious nocturnal antics, Michaelmas term has not disappointed. Anxious to keep up their reputation (stated in their Instagram bio) of hosting ‘the best private parties in Dublin’, LawSoc have kindly provided several opportunities to dress up and let off some steam, and filled the time in between with a string of high profile guests. Whether gracious (Ann Marie Slaughter) or grumpy (Jeremy Paxman), all speakers were truly entertaining. The Trinity College Law Review has stayed true to its excellent academic form

n Monday 21st November the TCLR held their first event of the year in the GMB as part of their Distinguished Speakers Series - a panel discussion entitled ‘The Irish Judiciary: Origins, Culture and Reform?’

The first speaker of the evening, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic of The Irish Times and author of ‘The Supreme Court’, described the Court as an “extremely powerful but largely unknown institution.” This perception of the judicial

with its panel discussion on the Irish Judiciary. FLAC fights on in their valiant quest to defend socio-economic and human rights! ELSA looks beyond the shores of this rocky outcrop and is doing their utmost best to hold Europe together by forging strong networks of legal scholars across the continent. I do hope you enjoy reading about what has been the wonderful and vibrant social calendar of Michaelmas term, we look forward to what is in store in the next.

Aisling Hourihane, Social Editor

system and its at times opaque character to those who have not themselves studied law has been discussed more and more in the media both traditional and social in recent weeks, following the Miller case on Brexit and the controversial headlines this caused.

This important test of the UK’s uncodified constitution, combined with comments made by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport about the Irish judiciary resisting reform and residing in a “protected citadel”, made this both a timely and lively discussion.

Professor Simon Lee, Professor of Jurisprudence at Queen’s University Belfast and author of ‘Judging Judges’ made the case that the appointments of many distinguished judges throughout UK and Irish history were heavily criticised at the time. Professor Lee compared this to the processes of appointing academics in universities, which are not always transparent and open to accusations of bias by those passed over. Perhaps when we or those in the media criticise an appointment, we are revealing more about ourselves than the new judges. Dr Jennifer

Carroll MacNeill offered her expert analysis from hertime as Special Advisor to Fine Gael and research for her book ‘The Politics of Judicial Selection in Ireland’ to reveal the political reality behind attempts at reform both of the appointments system and controversies over judges’ pay. Dr Carroll MacNeill spoke of the tension between the judiciary and the law-making majority of the people as represented in the Dáil, whose interests the judiciary are meant to protect. In the appointments system, the way to resolve this difficulty is by having elected officials act as a proxy for the majority. The replacement of an advisory board with a commission of ‘lay people’ would take the “worst elements” of the US judicial elections, which appear to have an effect on the way judges make decisions, and remove the elected officials element. Dr Carroll MacNeill also criticised the lack of transparency in creating the lists of suitable potential appointees, saying there is often no communication from the time an application is submitted to when it is rejected or accepted, meaning that applicants do not have the opportunity to clarify questions about their suitability.

Ruadhán Mac Cormaic also spoke about the tension between politics and the legal system that comes from the capacity for judicial review by the Irish courts, which originated in the US case of Marbury v Madison in 1803 but was not introduced in the UK. Mac Cormaic’s new book on the Supreme Court is meant to be more accessible for a general reader, being a history and examination of the Court and the powerful personalities who shaped what it is today.

The book attempts to “pull back the curtain” on its inner operations. Mac Cormaic spoke about the revival, according to some the birth, of Irish constitutional law in the 1960s and how this was shaped by individual personalities like Brian Wash and Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh. Interestingly, he suggested that many current judges could be defined by their attitude to that period. On the issue of gender equality and representation of minorities at the bar and in the High Court and Supreme Court, Dr Carroll MacNeill made the point that increasing gender parity had only been achieved through conscious political decisions to appoint more women. Mac Cormaic suggested that in the absence of this, a trickle-up effect of more diversity may take 20 or 30 years to achieve.

The discussion concluded with questions from the audience, followed by a generous reception. We leave the final word to Professor Lee, who said that we need more dialogue between the judges and the judged, and it is no bad thing that we now know more about the judges.

he black heeled-boots of the Berkely Library were traded in for hiking shoes on October 9th for the Law School Walk. The annual excursion around Howth Head was well-attended by staff and students alike on a crisp, clear Sunday morning. While Professor Yvonne Scannell failed to keep track of her beloved canine companion Rambo, her customary wit and charm were fully accounted for, to the delight of all present. Delighting the group too was junior jurisprude Poppy Prendergast, daughter of Dr. David Prendergast, the youngest participant in the walk at twelve months old.

Pausing for lunch midway through the lengthy outing didn’t just give walkers a chance to admire the glorious coastal vistas or enjoy the baked goods generously provided by 2nd year student Zoe Jackson-McGrath, but also to reflect on the worthwhile nature of traditions such as the annual Howth walk. Such occasions allow for staff and students to build meaningful and cordial bonds. Where else could one hear final year student Sean-Patrick Dunne engaging in jocular debate with Law and German Coordinator Nazli Heimann as to the economic prospects of post-Brexit Britain? Or Law and Business student Dylan Murphy instructing Oran Doyle as to idiosyncrasies of the League of Ireland First Division? It is the strength of such traditions on which the unique, community spirit of the Law School is built. Finally, if anyone residing in the vicinity of North County Dublin has spotted an excitable Jack Russell Terrier or several bewildered international, post-graduate students, please contact lawsch@tcd.ie as a matter of urgency.

uropean Law Student Association (ELSA) is an independent European wide organisation, which was founded in 1981. ELSA Trinity is a vibrant and successful society with three main focuses.

These focuses are academic speakers and debate, EMC2 moot court and STEP traineeships.

In October ELSA and An Cumann Gaelach held an event looking at the area of employment in the European Union, but with a focus on jobs for Irish language speakers. Guest speaker Dáithí MacCárthaigh BL spoke to attendees. This is a growing area of employment as the EU is set to hire 180 Irish speakers with strong legal experience by 2021.

ELSA Day was celebrated on November 30th. The event is held annually and sees ELSA branches throughout Europe working together and organising events to spotlight a particular issue. This year the focus was on Migration Law. The topic was chosen because of its particular relevance in the current political climate.

Upcoming events include a career-focused panel discussion with barristers on legal work opportunities in the European Union. This event will be held in association with Trinity's Law Society in January. Speakers on the night will offer an on the ground perspective on an area of legal employment which may seem out of reach to some students.

In Hilary Term ELSA will address the controversial topic of the law regarding prostitution. Should the sale of sex work be decriminalised and the purchase criminalised?

Should it be illegal outright, or should Ireland consider a Dutch approach and lift the ban on prostitution all together?

An always prominent feature in ELSA’s calendar is the ECHR International Moot Court Competition. This competition is modelled on the procedures for complaints made to the European Court of Human Rights. The final round is made up of twenty teams from across Europe and takes place in Strasbourg every year. In 2013 the ELSA Trinity team reached the final and performed well enough to win the competition. As well as this, the prizes for best orator and best written submission were awarded to the team. This year’s promising team members - chosen by the Law Schools Moot Court Coordinator Suryapratim Roy - are Paul McDonagh-Forde, Dáire McMullin, Hannah Beresford and Diarmuid ÓhUallachain This year ELSA Trinity will also send a team to the EMC2 International Moot Court Competition. Similar to the ECHR Moot this competition is modelled on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) settlement system. It too sees teams from across Europe make submissions, the twenty best of which are selected to compete in the final round. The final will take place in Geneva, Switzerland. Recruitment is currently under way to form a four person team. This team will also be coordinated by Roy.

isiting Trinity Law Society (LawSoc) in November, Slaughter laughed: “I’m often introduced as ‘Anne-Marie Slaughter, she thinks women can’t have it all’, and I want to shoot myself.” In this instance, however, she was lauded as so much more – an international lawyer, foreign policy analyst, political scientist and public commentator – and was awarded the Praese Elit award from the society.

The former Dean of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Law and Director and Professor at Harvard University’s Law School presented a talk focusing in on the concept of the lawyer and the political, posing the question as to why lawyers still make the best politicians. In Slaughter’s opinion, it is not necessarily that they make the “best politicians,” but perhaps instead that they are the best “wielders” of political power.

She spoke of how it seems that, of late in the US, lawyers have fallen out of fashion within government circles, and indeed the recent loss of Hillary Clinton, a lawyer, to a businessman, Donald Trump, in the US presidential race stands to affirm this. She reflected on that which is gained in one’s training to become a lawyer, whereby “we train you to hear arguments from both sides. You must place yourself in the shoes of the opposing side and understand from where they’re coming before you respond, otherwise your words mean nothing, They’re just words.”

She believes that this allows for a foundation of tolerance and mutual respect, stating that: “Without tolerance, we cannot live in any democracy.”

In addition, Slaughter offered the idea that the law, far from enabling power unconstrained, acts as a mantle of restraint due to the way in which common law accumulates law over time by way of precedent, the giving of weight to such precedent acting as a means of control in and of itself. At a time when the future of Roe v Wade – a landmark decision by the Supreme Court on the issue of abortion – looks uncertain, she emphasised how “profoundly glad” she is that the US “is not

currently a civil law country,” citing the role of the court in common law. She predicts, that due to the nature and strength of precedent as a means of enabling and restraining the power of the judge, Justice Roberts will most likely not vote against striking down Roe v Wade, which recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make medical decisions.

Slaughter also approached the position of women in the workplace, speaking of the difficulty had by women in managing both a career and a family. According to Slaughter, progress is achievable only when we can “get young men thinking how they can balance work and family”, and calling for the need to talk to young men about this in the same way as we talk to young women. After all, how often is someone described as a working father?

In speaking of the language surrounding women and men as both parents and professionals, she spoke also of the language of law. Law may not be an absolute anchor of justice, but for Slaughter, it is perhaps the best. She referred to “justice as a feeling”, a feeling made manifest through words, and as words aspire towards justice, so too does the law.

he annual Lawsoc Galway trip this year was, as always, a huge success. Some very eager law students gathered at the Pav on a sunny Friday morning in October, all dressed in costume.

After a quick real-life game of Pac Man on the cricket pitch, followed by a tense stand-off between a Viking, a Jedi and a

priest, we all piled onto our respective buses on the journey to the City of the Tribes. The bus trip resembled an episode of Xfactor with the singing going non-stop from the second we pulled off from Nassau Street to the moment we pulled into Eyre Square. A quick turnaround into some normal clothes and a bite of pizza and we were ready to explore what Galway nightlife had to offer. The night was danced away until we were ready for the after party back at the hostel. The next day was our chance to explore all that Galway City has to offer. Several of us enjoyed an amazing brunch at Ard Bia by the Spanish arch, followed by a wander around Salthill absorbing the fresh Atlantic air. Once the exploring was done it was time for round two. When Carbon couldn't stand us law students anymore, we rallied the troops and took the time to further explore some of Galway’s finest cuisine – Supermac’s. With the hunger curbed, there was time for a few hours rest before the bus back to Dublin in the morning. A fun weekend was certainly had by all!

s law students, it’s hard to imagine a life other than one spent climbing the corporate ladder. Many conversations consist of detailed discussions of which big firms we’re hoping to intern with. In response to this, Trinity FLAC hosts an event every year with the purpose of reminding ourselves that there is more than one career path open to us.

This year, Trinity FLAC’s Alternative Careers in Law talk attracted a panel of some of the most distinguished and fascinating figures of the Irish legal system. We heard from Claire Loftus, Director of Public Prosecutions; Jack Chambers, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin West; Bernadette Cronin SC from the Refugee Appeals Tribunal; Donagh McDonagh, former Circuit Court Judge; Sinead Kane, solicitor and blogger with sineadkane.ie; Richard Barrett, Deputy Director General from the Office of the Attorney General and Martina O’Connor from the Mental Health Tribunal.

These individuals provided unrivalled insight to life within the public sector in a variety of roles which included judicial, political or prosecutorial. Ultimately the audience was reminded that the legal knowledge acquired during our time here can be used for the benefit of our entire society and not just an elite, wealthy few.

raditionally regarded as the consummate interviewer, it perhaps explains Jeremy Paxman's apparent discomfort at being on the receiving end of the questions for a change, while receiving the Praeses Elit award from LawSoc this November.

First challenging the idea that he was worthy of such an award, and subsequently mocking the value of the honour in itself, Paxman was almost pantomime-like in his ruthlessness,

critiquing the EU, the current state of British journalism, the quality of television reporting and the inconsequential and nasty nature of social media.

Paxman provided interesting insights into the "postfact world" in which the US elections were based, urging students to prize safe sources of information and be more conscientious of where we choose to source our news.

Interviewed by RTE journalist Sinead Crowley, he had a wide range of opinions on aspects of recent news such as Brexit and the idea of colleges as 'safe spaces'. While an engaging speaker, one was left questioning whether LawSoc members merely encountered the public persona of Jeremy Paxman cantankerous, controversial and overwhelmingly negative rather than anything more substantial

im Obergefell met John Arthur in Ohio in 1992. They were together for over two decades, and when John was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, they decided to get married. As John was seriously ill, and Ohio didn’t allow same sex marriage, the couple’s family and friends helped them to raise money to pay for a chartered medical flight to Maryland.

They were married on the runway of Baltimore International airport in 2013, and John died shortly afterwards.

Jim entered into a legal battle with the state of Ohio to have his marriage to John recognised, and the case, Obergefell v Hodges, made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, who eventually ruled that same sex marriage was constitutionally protected. He visited the Law Society last month to share his story, and spoke to Colm O’Gorman, head of Amnesty Ireland in front of a large audience.

Jim spoke powerfully against the unfairness and prejudice which had ensured that gay couples in loving, committed relationships could not get married. He remarked that listening to the stories of gay couples is a powerful agent for change, as it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore one another’s humanity. It was impossible not to be moved by Jim’s courage, and to feel a renewed sense of pride remembering the result of the Marriage Equality referendum in Ireland last year.