The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) was today invited to appear before the High Court as amicus curiae or friend of the court in the proceedings entitled Pullen & Others v Dublin City Council. Today the Commission confirmed that it would appear on the basis of the human rights issues raised in the case.
Involving a proposed eviction of a family, the question before the Court is whether the ability of local authorities to secure a summary eviction from the District and Circuit Courts under section 62 of the 1966 Housing Act, may breach the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, in circumstances where the person or family are not provided with an opportunity to address allegations made against them and/or may be rendered homeless.
Welcoming the invitation from the Court to appear before it the President, Dr Maurice Manning stated:
“The value the Commission may offer to the Superior Courts in its role of amicus curiae, in addition to the separate role of the Attorney General, is becoming increasingly evident. The Commission welcomes the invitation of the Court to appear before it in this case today. It is important that the protections under the European Convention are secured under the 2003 legislation."
On the section 62 procedure itself, the Chief Executive, Éamonn Mac Aodha commented "This is not the first time that the Commission has appeared before the Courts on this matter. It appeared before the Supreme Court in April 2005 in the case of Fennell v Dublin City Council and while the 2003 legislation was held to be inapplicable in that case on the basis of the principle of the non-retrospectivity of legislation, the Commission was of the view that clear issues under the European Convention were raised under this procedure, as was also noted by Kearns J at the time. The Commission will seek to assist the Court in the present case on the difficult procedural questions before it."
The Attorney General is also appearing in the case.
A spokesperson is available for comment.
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Catherine Logan/ Suzanne Sullivan
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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 first appeared as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court in April 2005 in the case of Dublin City Council v Fennell which involved issues regarding the interpretation and effect of the European Convention on Human Rights Act. Since then it has been granted liberty to appear before the Supreme Court and High Court in five cases.