May 2010 Mastering Law: Conflicts, Challenges and Solutions in Today's Society

The Postgraduate Committee of Law Students at NUI Galway will host the Second Irish Conference for Law Masters Students on Thursday, 3 June, and Friday, 4 June, 2010. The title of the conference is: "Mastering Law: Conflicts, Challenges and Solutions in Today's Society". The format of the Mastering Law Conference has been designed to provide an exclusive opportunity for MA students of law to come together. Eligible students are invited to interact, present and discuss their areas of expertise in a formal and professional environment. Papers will be presented on all areas of law including: human rights, commercial law, constitutional law, criminal justice and European law. The event will be a forum to exchange ideas and a chance to explore the ways in which perspective fields of law intersect. The theme of the conference aims to facilitate stimulating and critical assessment of the legal climate of the past, present and future. Guest speakers will include Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, President of the Law Reform Commission and Michael Farrell, Irish Human Rights Commissioner. A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland, Justice McGuinness is currently President of the Irish Law Reform Commission. She has a distinguished judicial career and also served in Seanad Éireann as an independent representing the Dublin University constituency. Since 2005 she has served as Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at NUI Galway. Justice McGuinness will be drawing on her wealth of experience to offer her views on the challenges facing Irish Law, and to discuss those areas of the Irish Justice system that might prove to be the most dynamic and engaging for young lawyers about to embark on their careers. Michael Farrell is a Senior Solicitor at the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC), an independent human rights organisation dedicated to ensuring equal access to justice within Ireland. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Law Society s Human Rights Committee, and in 2001 was appointed as a Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights Commission, a position to which he was re-appointed in 2008. Mr Farrell was co-chair of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, he was heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland and has since worked towards ensuring refugee rights, gay rights, and towards the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Thelma Byrne, Co-Chairperson of the conference organising committee, commented; "We are thrilled that NUI Galway will host the Mastering Law Conference this year as it is so vital for continuing professional development for students pursuing a legal career. We hope that events such as this one will continue to take place in NUI Galway into the future". The Mastering Law Conference is sponsored by The Millennium Fund, Clarus Press, AIB and The Irish Times. For more information please visit www.masteringlaw.org Ends