The Irish Centre for European Law is an educational charity that seeks to promote knowledge, understanding and the good practice of EU law and European Human Rights law across the island of Ireland. It is based at Trinity College Dublin and is operated on a not-for-profit basis.
The Centre was founded in 1988 by Dr Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Guided by an expert Board, the Centre produces conferences, seminars, courses and publications of quality in specialised fields of European law.
Its members comprise solicitors, barristers, academics, representatives from industry, the public sector and non-governmental organisations.
The Centre's Patron is HE Mary Robinson SC.
The Centre's President is Advocate General Anthony M Collins.
The Centre's CEO is Eoin Delap BL, a practising barrister at the Irish Bar.
Governance
Marking its first 30 years, the Centre embarked upon a significant restructuring of its governance to: meet the growing needs for EU and European human rights law across the island of Ireland; better include the members in the life and work of the Centre; and, promote best practice in modern corporate and charities governance.
The members of the Centre adopted a new Constitution in September 2021, which was revised in September 2022.
Following this and an island-wide advertising process, a new Board was appointed from across the professions and academia, together with an Advisory Council and new Committees.
The membership of the Board can be found here. The Patron and Vice-Presidents of the Centre do not play a governance role, but are members of the Advisory Council. The full membership of the Advisory Council and the Centre's committees can be found here.
The responsibilities of the Board and the Centre's Officers are set out in the Constitution and in its Code of Conduct.
The Advisory Council's Terms of Reference are set out in Part XVIII of the Constitution.
The Board delegates powers and tasks to, and is advised by, a number of Committees:
- Terms of Reference for the Audit & Governance Committee, which is an independent standing committee reviewing finances and governance, are set out in Article 68 of the Constitution and in Supplemental Terms of Reference.
- Terms of Reference for other standing Committees are as follows: the Members' Committee; and, the Joint Nomination, Employment & Remuneration Committee.
- Terms of Reference for the annual Committees currently established by the Board are as follows: the Officers' Committee; the Northern Ireland Committee; and, the Annual Review Committee.
The Board has also adopted the following: a Code of Conduct; a Conflict of Interest Policy; and, a Complaints Policy. Other, internal, policies (including the Reserves Policy, the Gender Policy, GDPR/Privacy Policy and Staff Policies and Procedures) are available to members on request.
The Centre's web entry on the Charities Regulator's register contains, inter alia, its statement of compliance with the Charities Governance Code and its up-to-date financial accounts.
Upcoming Events
The Launch of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Centre for European Law
European Law (including EU law and ECHR law) will remain an important part of legal practice in Northern Ireland for the foreseeable future. The use of the ECHR is already well established, but the practice of EU law is somewhat less developed. However, Northern Ireland…