ICCL Consultation on the Veil in Irish Schools

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is organising a consultation on its Policy Paper on the Veil in Irish Schools: An Equality and Human Rights Analysis .

The event is scheduled to take place from 2.15pm-4.30pm on Monday, 23 May 2011 in the Equality Authority, 2 Clonmel Street, Dublin 2 and is aimed at educational managers, educationalists, parliamentarians, public policy makers, legal practitioners, academics and members of civil society.

Corinna Ferguson [see picture above], Legal Officer with UK human rights group Liberty, will discuss her organisation’s recent success in representing 14-year-old Sarika Singh who successfully argued that her school breached race relations and equality laws by excluding her for wearing the kara which is a Sikh bracelet and a central tenet of the Sikh religion.

Tanya Ward, Deputy Director with the ICCL, will outline the ICCL’s recommendations in this area and seek feedback from interested individuals and parties (see paper attached). Ward will also summarise any feedback received to date.

If you are interested in attending this event, please rsvp by 5pm, Friday, 20 May 2011 to Joanne Garvey, Administrator, ICCL, 9-13 Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, Email: joanne.garvey@iccl.ie ; Tel: (01) 799 4504

About Corinna Ferguson

Corinna Ferguson is a barrister and has been a legal officer at Liberty since August 2008. She is currently working on cases concerning religious freedom in the workplace, the duty on the state to investigate allegations of inhuman and degrading treatment in an immigration detention centre and police photography of peaceful protesters. Ferguson is a regular contributor to Liberty’s Legal Clinic which is hosted by the Guardian Newspaper.

About the ICCL’s Paper

The ICCL has prepared a paper for consultation in response to the ongoing debate concerning the wearing of the hijab (head veil) in Irish schools and the Minister for Education and Science’s recommendations on the wearing of school uniforms. The ICCL’s paper considers the likely impact of the recommendations and examines whether exclusions of pupils wearing hijabs or niqabs (full covering) from schools complies with the State’s constitutional, legal and international human rights obligations. The paper also makes recommendations aimed at the Department of Education and Science, patrons of schools and school management and others interested parties in the education sector.

International Copyright Conference to be held in Dublin 30th June - 1st July, 2011

The Copyright Association of Ireland is delighted to be hosting the bi-annual Study Days of ALAI in Dublin over the two days 30th June and 1st July 2011. It’s a rare opportunity to hear leading world copyright lawyers and industry representatives debate pressing issues and reflect on new challenges to copyright paradigms.

Speakers are drawn from academia, international organisations and the copyright industries, with a sprinkling of judges and practitioners. International participants include the President of HADOPI, the French online enforcement agency, and prolific author Professor Silke von Lewinski of the Max Planck Institute. The industry perspective will be represented by speakers from Google and the Walt Disney Corporation. Irish contributors will include Judge Peter Charleton, Professor Robert Clark, and Helen Sheehy, Solicitor, who represented the Plaintiffs in the Eircom/UPC file-sharing litigation.

The cost of the two-day conference package is €400, which includes lunch on both days, and conference dinner on 1st July. There is a special one-day rate of €150. Student discounts are available.

The programme and application forms can be accessed at http://www.alaidublin2011.org/

Conference on OTC Derivatives and the Global Financial Crisis

Fri. 20 May 2011:
Forging a New Regulatory Balance: OTC Derivatives and the Global Financial Crisis - Dublin
www.ucd.ie/reggov/newsevents/body,87212,en.html

UCD Centre for Regulation and Governance

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has revealed certain weaknesses in financial regulation, generating both commentary and policy responses.

Within elements of this commentary, over the counter (OTC) financial derivative instruments, in particular, have been held up as a prime example of a market warranting substantially more direct public regulatory intervention, exemplified by recent regulatory proposals emanating from the United States and the European Union. This conference will map out both the historical and emerging nature and operation of both public and private regulation in the OTC derivatives markets. This offers participants a sense of where OTC derivatives regulation has been and where it is likely to go in the future, including its capacity to cope with challenges thrown up by the GFC. This will be coupled with an emphasis on OTC equity derivatives and the particular challenges they present to traditional corporate governance paradigms.
This includes discussion both of the potential benefits of OTC equity derivatives as well as their capacity to skew incentives in the market for corporate control and facilitate a sidestepping of public disclosure rules

This conference will be relevant to lawyers, accountants and other professionals with interest and experience in financial markets.

Venue: UCD Newman House, 85/86 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2

Further Information and Booking Form:

www.ucd.ie/reggov/newsevents/body,87212,en.html