Saturday, December 15, 2018

Irish Law Events

Some forthcoming events are on the Irish Law Events twitter feed at
https://twitter.com/irishlawevents

For example:

On 18 Dec. 2018, @UCCLawEnv's seminar "Nature Conservation in the Anthropocene" features @Fulbright_Eire Scholar, Prof Patrick Parenteau, who will discuss the threat posed by #globalwarming and ocean acidification.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/lawenvironment/newsandevents/nature-conservation-in-the-anthropocene-.html


Daithí Mac Síthigh
Belfast, 26 Feb 2019: My @qubschooloflaw @QUBelfast inaugural lecture 'Technophilia, technophobia, and technobabble'
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/technophilia-technophobia-and-technobabble-the-relationship-between-law-and-innovation-tickets-53437698595

Symposium 'Future Visions for a Democratic Internet'. It's part of a series of events of @UCDCentreHR and will take place on the 27th June 2019 @UCDLawSchool. Read the call for papers. Deadline: 31 January 2019
http://www.democraticinternet.com/p/call-for-papers.html

Law and Literature: The Irish Case, DCU, 6 April 2019
‏We invite proposals for 20 minute panel papers exploring the intersections between law and literature in modern Ireland.
Site: https://lawandliteratureireland.wordpress.com


'Populism and the Rule of Law'. Professor Nicola Lacey of @LSELaw at @UCDLawSchool. The J.M.Kelly Memorial Lecture 2019, 31 Jan. 2019, Dublin. https://www.ucd.ie/law/events/jmkellylecture2019/


Thursday, June 21, 2018

Mental Health and Capacity Law Conference 2018

The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, School of Law, University College Cork and Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association held their 2018 conference on Mental Health Law and Capacity Law in UCC on Saturday 12 May 2018.

Topics discussed included Recent Developments in Mental Health Law, Dealing with Capacity Issues in Practice, and Children and the Mental Health Act 2001.

Ms Katharine Kelleher, Partner,  Comyn Kelleher Tobin, Solicitors, Cork, spoke on  ‘Section 25  Mental Health Act 2001 in practice from a legal perspective'. Ms Kelleher outlined how children with mental disorders are detained in approved centres by the District Court.  She discussed the evidence required at these court hearings and issues such as what happens when the children reach the age of 18. 

Ms Freda McKittrick, Head of Barnardos Guardian ad Litem Service:   ‘Catching or Falling? The experience of working with children in the Mental Health and Child Care Systems’. 
In this paper, Ms McKittrick outlined what works for children with mental health issues: continuity of service, structural integration of services, and where services are well established and prepared to manage risk.

Dr Anne Jeffers, Consultant Psychiatrist, spoke about the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland REFOCUS Group.  REFOCUS is the Recovery Experience Forum of Carers and Users of Services. REFOCUS is made up of 10 people with experience of mental illness, and ten people who had family members who used the services. The aim of the forum is to actively engage with the College of Psychiatrists, in order to improve the education of psychiatrists, and thereby improve mental health services. 

Dr Lisa Butterly, Historian:   ‘A Jury of My Peers’. 
Dr Butterly said she feels resentful of how poorly Ireland treats people with schizophrenia.  She highlighted the stigma attached to schizophrenia and noted that stigma bypasses self-determination, destroys self-esteem and destroys self-identity. 

Ms Brid Breathnach, Deputy Official Solicitor and Senior Civil Litigation Lawyer, Office of the Official Solicitor, London: ‘Serious medical treatment applications in the Court of Protection in England and Wales - a practitioner's perspective’:
Ms Breathnach said that the use of independent experts was an important safeguard in medical treatment cases. She spoke about recent cases in the Court of Protection, including cases concerning termination of pregnancy and persons in a vegetative state.

Mr Michael Lynn, Senior Counsel:  ‘Recent Developments in Mental Health Law’: 
Mr Lynn discussed important cases such as  A.B. v. Clinical Director of St. Loman’s Hospital,
Court of Appeal, 2018, where the court declared that s.15(3) of the Mental Health Act 2001 is unconstitutional.  The declaration stands suspended until November 2018.

Ms Áine Hynes, Partner, St. John Solicitors, Dublin:  ‘Dealing with Capacity Issues in Practice - Recent Developments’: 
Ms Hynes discussed how the High Court's wardship jurisdiction has become more flexible in recent years.  She also noted that a solicitor has a special duty of care in respect of vulnerable clients, and that a family member cannot give instructions to a solicitor for another family member lacking in mental capacity.

The conveners of the conference were Dr Darius Whelan, School of Law, UCC and Ms Joan Doran, Solicitor, Chairperson of the Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association.

Videos and slides from the conference are available at
https://www.ucc.ie/academic/law/docs/mentalhealth/conferences/




Monday, April 16, 2018

Save the Date: Mental Health and Capacity Law Conference 2018




SAVE THE DATE

Centre for Criminal Justice & Human Rights, School of Law, University College Cork and
Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association 

Annual Conference 2018
Mental Health Law and Capacity Law   

Saturday 12 May 2018 
10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork   

Conference programme will be published shortly, once finalised.

Speakers will include:
  • Ms Freda McKittrick, Head of Barnardos Guardian ad Litem Service:   ‘Catching or Falling? The experience of working with children in the Mental Health and Child Care Systems’ 
  • Mr Michael Lynn, Senior Counsel:  ‘Recent Developments in Mental Health Law’  
  • Dr Lisa Butterly, Historian:   ‘A Jury of My Peers’ 
  • Dr Anne Jeffers, Consultant Psychiatrist: ‘Learning from the Patient: Experience with the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland REFOCUS Group’ 
  • Ms Katherine Kelleher, Partner,  Comyn Kelleher Tobin, Solicitors, Cork:  'S 25  Mental Health Act 2001 in practice from a legal perspective'  
  • Ms Brid Breathnach, Deputy Official Solicitor and Senior Civil Litigation Lawyer, Office of the Official Solicitor, London: ‘Serious medical treatment applications in the Court of Protection in England and Wales - a practitioner's perspective’ 
  • Ms Patricia Hickey, General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court 
  • Ms Áine Hynes, Partner, St. John Solicitors, Dublin:  ‘Dealing with Capacity Issues in Practice - Recent Developments’ 
    Conference Convenors:  Dr Darius Whelan, School of Law, UCC and Ms Joan Doran, Solicitor, Chair, Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association

    - Conference Fee - €120 
    - NGOs €50
    - Academics - €50
    - Devilling barristers and trainee solicitors - €50
    - Students – Free

    Further Information from Ms Deirdre Kelleher, School of Law, UCC, phone (021) 490 3642, email lawevents@ucc.ie.

    Four CPD Hours – Solicitors and Barristers
    College of Psychiatrists of Ireland - 3.5 external CPD Credits.

    Book Online 

    Twitter hashtag:  #IMHLAUCC 


    Saturday, April 07, 2018

    Monitoring of smartphones and by CCTV in the workplace


    I recently participated in an interdisciplinary seminar at UCC on 'Electronic Monitoring in Ireland: Shaping what we do and who we are'.

    The title of my talk was 'Monitoring of smartphones and by CCTV in the workplace'. 

    I discussed the legal implications of (a) use of smartphones and (b) monitoring by CCTV in the workplace.

    Smartphones allow receipt of emails on a 24/7 basis, even when the employee is in theory off duty.  Employees’ locations may also be monitored.  The implications for employees’ mental health and compliance with the Working Time Directive were considered.  CCTV monitoring also raises significant issues, for example regarding the purposes of monitoring and the relationship between data protection law and employment law.

    My presentation:
    http://bit.ly/monitoring-law

    A podcast interview:
    "Listen to Dr Darius Whelan (@dariuswirl) speak with Jane Mulcahy (@janehmul) about the monitoring of smartphones in the workplace and the use of CCTV by employers"
    https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/dr-darius-whelan-shares-his-thoughts-on-electronic/id1288572014?i=1000408249932

    [UCC School of Law Podcast]     If you don't have iTunes, the file is here.

    The organisers of the seminar were Dr. Eleanor Bantry-White, Applied Social Studies; Dr. Katharina Swirak, Criminology; Dr. Debora Jeske, Applied Psychology; Dr. Fiona Donson, Law.

    Speakers included
    Professor Mike Nellis, Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Community Justice in the Law School, University of Strathclyde
    Dr. Ciaran McCullagh, Associate Professor, University of Limerick
    Gerry McNally, President of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) and Assistant Director, Irish Probation Service
    Professor Frederic Adam, Business Information Systems, UCC
    Dr. Eleanor Bantry White, UCC School of Applied Social Studies
    Dr. Orla O’Donovan, UCC School of Applied Social Studies

    Some tweets may be found at #EMIreland

    Case-law referred to in my presentation includes:

    UPC Ireland v UNITE and SIPTU (2015)  LCR20938
    https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2015/March/LCR20938.html

    O'Connor v Galen Ltd (UD 1514/2009)

    Köpke v. Germany (2010)
    http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-101536 

    López Ribalda v Spain (2018)
    http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2018/14.html

    Ali v First Quench (2001)
    www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2001/446.html

    McGowan v Scottish Water (2004)
    www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2004/0007_04_2309.html

    Gresham Hotel (Case Study 6 of 2007)
    https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Case-Studies-2008/c/732.htm#6

    Westwood Swimming (2011)
    https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Case-Studies-2011/1212.htm#9

    Employee v Employer (Supermarket Restaurant) UD893/2010 (2012)
    https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2012/September/UD893_2010_MN848_2010.html