IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO SET OUT HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES BEFORE SUPREME COURT
Commission appears as ‘friend of the court’ in appeal addressing
Rights of Irish Children born to Non-National Parents
The Irish Human Rights Commission will appear before the Supreme Court today as an amicus curiae or ‘friend of the court’ in the proceedings entitled D.B and Others v The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
The Commission appears at the discretion of the Supreme Court concerning an appeal, by the State, of High Court judgments in November 2006 by Justice Finlay Geoghegan. The judgments concern applications for residency made by non-national parents of Irish born citizen children, following the referendum on citizenship in 2004 . In each case, at least one, if not both non-national parents of Irish citizen children were refused permission to remain in the State.
The High Court ruling found that the human rights of the individuals concerned had been infringed under both the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Specifically, the court considered that the best interest or welfare of the child was not taken into account.
The Commission’s appearance in the proceedings will be directed towards drawing both constitutional and international human rights principles to the attention of the Court.
Welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court to give the Commission leave to appear before it, the President of the Commission, Dr. Maurice Manning, said: "This is the fifth time that the Irish Human Rights Commission has been granted liberty to appear in its capacity as ‘amicus curiae’ or ‘friend of the court’".
The Human Rights Commission Act, 2000, provides the statutory basis for the Commission so appearing, with the leave of the Court, in a case involving human rights issues and the Commission’s role is primarily to be of assistance to the Court and to draw relevant human rights principles to its attention.
The Commission’s legal representatives in court will be Gerard Hogan SC and Patrick Dillon-Malone BL. The full text of the Commission’s written submissions will be made available on the Commission’s website www.ihrc.ie in due course.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Martin Mackin/Catherine Logan
Q4PR – 01 475 1444
087 814 5030 / 086 811 4785
Note for Editors:
Under section 8(h) of the Human Rights Commission Act, 2000, the Commission may, at the discretion of the High Court or the Supreme Court, appear as amicus curiae in proceedings that involve or are concerned with the human rights of any person.
Section 2 of the Human Rights Commission Act, 2000 defines "human rights" to include those rights conferred on or guaranteed to persons under the Constitution and under any agreement, treaty or convention to which the State is a party.
The Commission has previously been granted liberty to appear as amicus curiae in four cases. Those cases involved issues regarding the interpretation and effect of the European Convention on Human Rights Act and the lawfulness of eviction from local authority housing; an examination of provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act, 2002 (the criminal trespass legislation) and other related matters including the extent to which local authorities may be obliged to provide appropriate accommodation to Traveller families; and the principle of ‘equality of arms’ in criminal trials.
In a fourth case the Commission was invited by the High Court to appear in proceedings involving the rights of a parent with an intellectual disability to the assistance of a guardian ad litem in legal proceedings and the role of the guardian ad litem when representing such an adult. The case settled in March 2007 on the basis that a new scheme was to be established under the Legal Aid Board’s auspices to apply in child-care proceedings for persons with a mental disability who are granted legal aid and who require the support and assistance of a guardian ad litem.
In this fifth case the Commission has been granted liberty to appear before the Supreme Court in proceedings involving 8 minors where one, if not both parents were refused residency in the State despite their parentage of an Irish born child.
The applications for permission to remain in the State were made pursuant to the IBC/05 Scheme which was an administrative arrangement commenced 1 January 2005, whereby non-national parents of Irish citizen children born before 1 January 2005 were invited to apply for leave to remain in the State.