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Using the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights - PILA Practitioner Seminar

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013

PILA is organising a Practitioner Seminar, where speakers will consider how the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights may be used in practice.The seminar will take place in the Morrison Hotel in Dublin on 7 February, 4-6 pm.

The speakers are Jonathan Cooper, a leading human rights barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, London, and Suzanne Kingston BL, a barrister with expertise in EU law and the EU Charter.

Jonathan Cooper is a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, London, Britain's top human rights law chambers.  Jonathan is a human rights specialist and advises on all aspects of domestic and international human rights law. He represents clients before English and international courts and tribunals and has taken several cases to the European Court of Human Rights. Jonathan has particular expertise in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the human rights and equality implications of the Lisbon Treaty.

He has created human rights training programmes which are used around the world. He works closely with the FCO, governments in other jurisdictions from Ireland to Turkey, as well as international organisations, such as the Council of Europe. He is the editor of one of the leading human right law journals, European Human Rights Law Review (Sweet & Maxwell), and co-editor (with Prof. Jeffrey Jowell) of Understanding Human Rights Principles (Hart Publications, 2001) and Delivering Rights (Hart Publications, 2003).

In 2007, Jonathan was awarded an OBE for services to human rights

Suzanne Kingston BL is is a barrister practising at the Irish bar, where her practice includes EU law, judicial review and commercial law.  She has frequently appeared before the EU courts, including acting as sole counsel on behalf of Ireland and as sole external counsel on behalf of the European Commission.  She lectures in EU law at UCD and has published widely in the area.  She worked for several years at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and, prior to that, practised EU law in Brussels.

Chairperson: Michael Farrell is the senior solicitor with FLAC. He formerly worked as a solicitor in private practice and has taken cases to the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Committee of Social Rights.  He is a former Co-Chairperson of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and was a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission from 2001 to 2011. He is also the Irish member of the Council of Europe Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

CPD points are available for this seminar.

As places are limited, please confirm attendance to Ciara Flatley t: (01) 8728048 or e-mail: events@pila.ie