International Law

Privacy. The Lost Right

Posted on July 01, 2009
The title of this post is the provocative title of a recently published book from Oxford University Press written by Jon L Mills (on the author, see University of Florida Levin College of Law | University of Miami School of Law; on the book, see Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | OUP; [...

Mobile phones in class

Posted on June 28, 2009
By way of update to my recent post about laptops in class, here’s Torill Mortensen thinking with her fingers about recent research on the consequences of mobile phones going off in class: Why we don’t like cell-phones in class … Apart from being annoying, distracting and rude, ringing cellphones makes students forget what they learned before [...

Dress codes - who?ll be the judge?

Posted on June 27, 2009
I have already written on this blog about reforms to judicial dress in England and Wales (the image on the right is a well-known example of the previous judicial court dress). No comes news that Ireland may follow suit. From today’s Irish Independent (with added links): Fashion guru revamps judges’ robes Fashion guru Louise Kennedy has been [...

Perspectives on Academic Freedom

Posted on June 26, 2009
One of my favourite blogs is Erin O’Connor’s Critical Mass, a blog dedicated to commentary on the state of academe in general and American higher education in particular. She is invariably interesting and unfailingly provocative, if not always right; and her discussions of academic freedom in all its guises have helped to clarify what I [...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

When is a guillotine a good thing? When it?s used on a Defamation Bill?

Posted on June 26, 2009
In this morning’s Irish Times: Defamation Bill to pass within weeks The Bill to reform Ireland?s libel laws is likely to be enacted within a fortnight, three years after it was published. The Defamation Bill was introduced by then minister for justice Michael McDowell in 2006 to repeal the existing legislation which dates from 1961...

Alien versus Creditor

Posted on June 14, 2009
A movie morality tale for our times, via Courtoons:

No Supreme Court judgment yet in journalists? sources appeal

Posted on June 12, 2009
It is said that patience is a virtue. It seems that the Supreme Court is determined to make us all virtuous. As we eagerly await their decision in the appeal from the decision of the High Court in Mahon v Keena [2007] IEHC 348 (23 October 2007), it appears we shall have to hold our [...

European Charter on Freedom of the Press

Posted on June 10, 2009
Jörges hands over the Charter to Reding (Photo: EUobserver) On 25 May 25 2009, 48 editors-in-chief and leading journalists from 19 countries adopted and signed the European Charter on Freedom of the Press in Hamburg. In ten articles, the Charter formulates principles for the freedom of the press from government interference...

Creative Commons in Ireland: Cimín Cruthaitheach in Éireannn

Posted on June 08, 2009
There is a tension at the heart of creativity. On the one hand, I might be moved by the muse to write/paint/create something interesting (I know, if you’ve read anything on this blog, you might wonder if that muse has ever struck, but bear with me)...

Laptop fever

Posted on June 08, 2009
Ireland’s leading celebrity academic blogger discusses a the theme of Laptops in class: Laptop fever … the laptop is now a common sight in the lecture theatre or classroom, with an increasing number of students bringing them along and using them visibly...

Facebook and Privacy

Posted on June 07, 2009
Via Chris Slane’s wonderful Privacy Cartoon Portfolio, a poster for last month’s Privacy Awareness Week in New Zealand:

Cowengate caricatures ?didn?t bother? Cowen: why the fuss?

Posted on June 06, 2009
On the top right hand corner of a cover of Hot Press (pictured left) runs a quote from the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen: Those paintings didn’t bother me It is a teaser for a full interview with Jason O’Toole in which Cowen talks about the current economic crisis and his party’s electoral prospects...

Plans for an Irish Court of Appeal?

Posted on June 05, 2009
Some time ago, in a similarly titled post, I discussed the establishment of a committee chaired by Ms Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court which was to consider the necessity for a possible new Court of Appeal. I thought it a good idea then, and still do now...

What is unjust enrichment? is it comedy?

Posted on June 05, 2009
Charlie Webb poses the provocative question “What is Unjust Enrichment?” in the title of an important piece just published in (2009) 29 (2) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 215-243. His basic point is that whilst the existence of a law of Restitution concerned with reversing unjust enrichments is largely uncontroversial, the ability of unjust enrichment [...

Universities? Declaration of Independence? - again

Posted on June 04, 2009
A little while ago I mused that Irish universities seeking the freedom to set their own fees might decide to declare independence from government not just on fees but on all matters. But I thought then that it would never happen. However, the old adage “never say never” occurred to me this morning, reading the [...

Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey

Posted on June 03, 2009
From Michael Lines on Slaw: Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey UNESCO and its Communication and Information Sector have just released a new edition of Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey, and it is free online. The survey was prepared by Toby Mendel, Law Programme Director with Article XIX...

Existential musings

Posted on June 02, 2009
If you have ever wondered is there any thing more boring than drafting a contract? then Ken Adams (pictured right, author of the invaluable Manual of Style for Contract Drafting and of one of my favourite blogs) has (necessary? welcome?) reassurance.

The Law of Trek

Posted on June 01, 2009
I just couldn’t resist this piece by Christine Corcos from the Law & Humanities blog [with added links]: Re-Examining Star Trek In his review essay on Star Trek: The Exhibition [link], Edward Rothstein [wikipedia] points out a number of anachronisms and anamolies, most stemming from the original television series and its spin-offs...

Another tweet

Posted on May 31, 2009
The first one’s here. Today’s comes from this week’s New Yorker:

A bank error in your favour is not a gift from God

Posted on May 31, 2009
Well, I mean, yes idealism, yes the dignity of pure research, yes the pursuit of truth in all its forms, but there comes a point I’m afraid where you begin to suspect that if there’s any real truth, it’s that the entire multi-dimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch [...

Rugby, property, and the interpretation of contracts

Posted on May 28, 2009
Perhaps rugby is replacing property as the Irish obsession du jour. There are many ways in which they overlap. For example, during the property boom, it was not uncommon for sports clubs to sell off some of their lands to developers, in return not only for the cash but also for improved facilities provided by [...

The liability of rescuers

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Law Reform Commission last night (pdf) launched its new Report on The Civil Liability of Good Samaritans and Volunteers (pdf), following up on its November 2007 Consultation Paper (pdf) on the issue. The Common Law does not recognise a duty to attempt a rescue, even where the rescue would be relatively easy, and the [...

Oh defamation, where is thy sting?

Posted on May 19, 2009
Two defamation stories from the Irish Times. The first concerns an interesting variation on the old defamtion saw, the sting of the libel: An Irishman’s Diary … In the Language of Flowers ? a Victorian invention by which tortured lovers and the like used to send coded messages ? nettles signified ?cruelty? or ?slander?...

It?s not Smart, it?s unjust enrichment

Posted on May 12, 2009
From today’s Irish Times comes news of a pending claim for restituiton of unjust enrichment: Former Smart Telecom CEO sued for sum of ?1.16m SMART YUROE Broadband (SYB) and related companies have sued former Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning for more than ?1...

Why protect free speech?

Posted on May 11, 2009
Index on Censorship has published a short edited extract from Ideas That Matter: Key Concepts for the 21st Century (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009) by AC Grayling, Professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, in which her provides a compelling and pithy case in favour of free speech and against censorship: It?s a surprise to [...

Criminal libel; one faltering step forward, now two steps back

Posted on May 06, 2009
A little more than a month ago, I wondered why legislators are so loath to repeal criminal libel provisions. However, in a subsequent post, I acknowledged that section 34 of the Defamation Bill, 2006 as introduced provided for the abolition of the common law offences of criminal libel, seditious libel and obscene libel...

Journalists? source privilege: one privilege or two?

Posted on May 05, 2009
Journalists’ source privilege is in the air. In the US, the House of Representatives has recently passed a (not particularly readable) Bill recognising a journalists’ source privilege (the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009), and it has been introduced into the Senate...

The limits of the ECHR?s protection of journalists? sources

Posted on May 04, 2009
In my previous post, I outlined some of the international instruments which provide for the protection of journalists? sources. The leading court decision on the issue is the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the seminal and hugely influential Goodwin v UK Application no 17488/90, [1996] ECHR 16 (27 March [...

World Press Freedom Day, 2009

Posted on May 03, 2009
Today is World Press Freedom Day. According to Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO [with added links]: Every year, World Press Freedom Day provides an opportunity to affirm the importance of freedom of expression and press freedom ? a fundamental human right enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

International instruments on the protection of journalists? sources

Posted on May 03, 2009
World Press Freedom Day is an appropriate day on which to consider the protection of journalists’ sources on the international plane. It is a protection that is embodied in many international instruments. For example, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has always had media freedom at the heart of its operations...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.