This article explores the relationship between the American Bar Association and the Irish legal professions in the twentieth century. It focuses in particular on two instances when the ABA visited Ireland; the first in 1924 and the second in 1957. Both were significant for different reasons. In 1924 the new Irish Free State had emerged from a period of violence to the formation of a new system of courts, new judicial appointments and other changes. The visit was an opportunity to demonstrate internationally that the rule of law had been reestablished. In 1957 the U.S. Supreme Court had delivered a number of significant civil rights judgments and the visit of Chief Justice Earl Warren to Ireland seems to have fed into the growing interest in American constitutional interpretation. The 1957 visit was also an example of the kind of soft diplomacy which further strengthened Irish-American relations.
Twenty years after the enactment of the Interpretation Act 2005, the Act's impact on statutory interpretation in Ireland warrants close scrutiny. This paper focuses on ss.5 and 6 of the Act, which were considered the most significant innovations and remain particularly interesting approaches in comparison with other interpretation acts in force in various jurisdictions. Section 5 establishes fundamental rules of interpretation, serving as the basis for all interpretative exercises, whereas s.6 is applied sparingly. Both enhance legal certainty and transparency. Drawing on over 130 judgments, this paper examines how these provisions have been applied and their contribution to consistency and predictability in Irish law. By situating the Irish experience within broader debates on interpretation acts and statutory interpretation, the study offers insights of both domestic and comparative relevance, highlighting the continuing evolution and significance of Ireland's regulatory framework.
This article considers how a gender-neutral approach to sentencing perpetuates inequality and why gender must then be accounted for during the sentencing process, so that women in the criminal justice system are not further disadvantaged by reason of their gender. The challenges experienced by women in the broader criminal justice system, as well as inconsistencies in sentencing practice, are each discussed. The article then sets out legal bases for considering gender as a factor within the sentencing process, including the constitutional principles of equality and proportionality, the public sector equality and human rights duty and international human rights law. This article therefore concludes that any forthcoming sentencing guidelines should adopt a gender-sensitive approach, both in order to comply with constitutional, national and international law and to promote substantive justice for women in the criminal justice system.
In 2025, the Irish government and the opposition moved to answer calls for the State to legislate for the removal of guardianship rights from a parent-guardian convicted of the murder or manslaughter of their child's other parent-guardian. The Fianna F & aacute;il/Fine Gael/Independent coalition government introduced the General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025, while the Social Democrats introduced a Private Members Bill, titled the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025. This article critiques, and contrasts, these two relatively recent legislative proposals, neither of which is yet enacted, before recommending a blended approach to ensure that the best of both draft pieces of legislation is ultimately enacted, and is constitutionally sound. Such legislation would proportionately achieve the dual goals of preserving the constitutional status of married parents, and mothers, while vindicating the best interests of the child by enabling a court to interfere with the ability of such parent-guardians to exercise their guardianship rights in cases where they are convicted of domestic homicide or other serious offences against the child's other guardian(s).
The Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 introduced an individual accountability regime with the objective of improving culture and accountability and restoring trust in the financial services sector and, in particular, the banking sector. This article proposes the introduction of an Individual Accountability Framework Sandbox, to support this regime and optimise its efficiency. Unlike typical sandboxes, which test new and innovative products, this innovative sandbox would provide firms and regulators with the space and opportunity to experiment and collaborate in the design of solutions to complex and difficult problems that arise in firms. In light of ongoing efforts to reform financial services at a national and supranational level, and continuing debates internationally about how best to develop a culture of compliance in financial services, this sandbox also constitutes a timely and useful model for other jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia and Singapore, where similar accountability regimes exist.
