Editorial

• Author: Alannah Irwin
• Pages: 3-6

Editorial

Since the last edition of this journal was published, the Irish citizenry has

been repeatedly called to express itself on matters of legal import: two

referendums and a presidential election explicitly sought such

expression, while issues such as Britain’s impending exit from the

European Union and scandals in the healthcare sector have prompted it

also. This journal – in its own, humble way – aims to facilitate similar

acts of expression, providing a platform for its contributors to respond to

current legal issues and call for action.

Volume XXII of the Trinity College Law Review certainly

witnesses this expression. In ‘Revisiting the Interpretation of the

Protected Groups of the Genocide Convention in Light of the Rohingya

Case,’ Adrià Ferrer-Monfort adduces evidence of the national, ethnic,

racial, and religious characteristics of the Rohingya people, as well as

subjective perceptions of the group, to demonstrate that the Rohingya

have a unique ethnic identity. On this basis, Ferrer-Monfort argues that

the Rohingya should fall within the definition of a protected group under

the Genocide Convention, and calls for justice and accountability for the

atrocities committed against them. In ‘The Right to an Environment and

its Effects for Climate Change Litigation in Ireland,’ Eadbhard Pernot

examines the recent recognition of the unenumerated right to an

environment and suggests how that right may be instrumental in

demanding that the Irish government do more to tackle climate change.

Keire Murphy investigates whether Irish family reunification law

protects the interests of children who are beneficiaries of international

protection in ‘Small Happy Family? An Analysis of Irish Family

Reunification Law as it Applies to Beneficiaries of International

Protection.’ Murphy argues that the International Protection Act 2015

fails to appreciate cultural conceptions of the family in refugee-

producing states and concludes that the Act does not protect the best

interests of children falling within its remit. Cillian Bracken also

examines recent developments in family law in ‘Consolidating the

Approach to Article 41.1: Gorry & Anor v Minister for Justice and

Equality.’ Bracken argues that Gorry’s interpretation of the relationship

between Article 41.1 of the Irish Constitution and Article 8 of the

European Convention on Human Rights is inconsistent with previous