Foreword by Dr David Fennelly

Volume 8 Issue 2 Foreword

By Dr David Fennelly, Chair, FLAC

As Chair of FLAC, I am delighted to write the foreword to this issue of The Eagle which, in collaboration with Trinity FLAC, focuses on Access to Justice.

Since it was founded in 1969, FLAC has been campaigning to promote access to justice in Ireland. The early campaigns in the 1970s, combined with the landmark Airey case before the European Court of Human Rights, led to the introduction of a civil legal aid scheme. This developed over time into the civil legal aid system we have today. While the Legal Aid Board does a huge amount of good work within this system, there are unfortunately major gaps in coverage and resources. If the Strasbourg Court demanded that the right of access to the courts be practical and effective, not just theoretical and illusory, we remain a long way from the full realisation of that right in many areas.

Against this backdrop, the commitment by the Minister for Justice to a review of the legal aid system – something FLAC has campaigned for over many years – is a welcome development. For FLAC, it is important that this review, like the original Pringle Report, is a meaningful review, providing a blueprint for a fair, modern and accessible legal aid system. Nothing less is required.

Effective legal aid is vital to ensuring access to justice. However, other measures are also necessary, including the modernisation and simplification of the court process. The recent Review of the Administration of Civil Justice, chaired by former President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, makes important recommendations in this regard. While there is much to be welcomed in that Review, FLAC has serious concerns about the recommendations in relation to judicial review.

We know from bitter experience in Ireland that efforts to restrict judicial review in areas such as immigration and planning have tended only to increase the time and costs associated with litigation challenging decisions of public bodies. This is in itself a reason for caution in bringing in similar or more stringent restrictions across the board.

But much more fundamentally there is a real risk that any significant curtailment of judicial review would undermine what is an essential safeguard for the rule of law in our democracy. It would also raise issues of inconsistency with our European and international obligations.

We are very fortunate in Ireland to have a robust and independent justice system, with and independent judiciary and legal profession. Recent events elsewhere in Europe and beyond remind us that these systems – in which judicial review of public decisions plays a key role – must not be taken for granted.

While the Ireland of 2021 is a very different place to the Ireland of 1969, FLAC remains committed to mobilising for access to justice in Ireland.

In doing so, we take the view that access to justice is not only important in its own right but that it also has a special importance as a gateway for the protection of fundamental rights and equality.

Students have always played an important role in FLAC from its foundation onwards. My own involvement with FLAC started when I was a first year law student in Trinity. As well as making some great friends and

getting great experience through volunteering, being involved with Trinity FLAC gave me a very different perspective on the law and the legal system to that I found in the academic curriculum. Since that time, I have remained involved over the years in various shapes and forms.

As an organisation founded by students, FLAC very much values engagement by students in its work and on issues of access to justice, equality and human rights more generally. You will be the future leaders, within the legal profession and beyond, and your commitment to these issues is more important than ever. This special issue of The Eagle on Access to Justice, in collaboration with Trinity FLAC, is a great example of this commitment and I commend all those who have contributed to its publication.