Editorial

• Author: Dáire AJL McCormack-George
• Pages: 1-4

Editorial

Thepastyearhasseen a greatmanydevelopmentsinlawandsocietyacross

EuropeandinIreland.Thepassingofthemarriagereferendum,theGender

RecognitionAct2015, andtheChildrenandFamilyRelationshipsAct2015

areallextremelysignificantdomesticdevelopments,implementedinan

attemptto“catchup”withtherealityofIrishsocietytoday.Theongoing

migrantcrisisonthecontinentandtheterroristattacksinParishavesparked

seriousdebatesacrossEuropeabouttheroleandfutureoftheEU.The

reactivenatureofthelawanditsinstitutionsishighlightedin a starkmanner

acrossalloftheseareas.

Whatroledoes,orshould, a studentlawreviewplayinthiscontext?

Providing a forumforlawstudentstodiscussissuesofinteresttothemin a

rigorousandengagingmannerseemstobetheappropriatenormative

conceptionof a studentlawjournalandtheEditorialBoardofVolumeXIX

haveworkedtopromotesuchanidealthroughoutitsworkthisyear.The

EditorialBoardcontinuedwithitstraditionalAuthors’ Night,wherewe

weredelightedtowelcomeThomasCourtneyofArthurCox,DesRyanof

TrinityCollegeDublin,andUrsulaKilkellyofUniversityCollegeCork,all

ofwhommademanyinsightfulcommentsandprovidedguidanceon

makingone’sowncontributiontotheacademicarena.Ourfirst

DistinguishedSpeakerSeriestalkthisyearwasontheeminentlyrelevant

topicof“TheUniversalityofHumanRights”wherewewerejoinedbyLord

Hoffmann,formerSecondSeniorLawLordintheHouseofLords,William

BinchyofTrinityCollegeDublin, andAnne Power-FordeSC,formerJudge

oftheEuropeanCourtofHumanRights.

TheEditorialBoardarealsohonouredtocollaboratewiththeTrinity

CollegeDublinLawStudentColloquiumthisyeartopublishtheBest

ColloquiumPaperpresented,andtheBrianLenihanMemorialAddress,this

yearbyJudgeDonalO’Donnellon“SomeReflectionsontheIndependence

oftheJudiciaryinIrelandintheEuropeofthe21stCentury,” a movelong

overdue.Anefforthasalsobeenmadetoimproveandsecurefurtherprizes

toencouragestudentpublication,andwenowhaveprizesacrossnumerous

areasoflaw,aswellasFrench,GermanandIrishlanguageprizes.Weare

alsoworkingonpartnershipswithourneighbouringjournal,theUCDLaw

Review, aswellasthePennUndergraduateLawJournalattheUniversity

ofPennsylvaniaandtheKing’sStudentLawReviewatKing’sCollege

Londontoencouragemorediversesubmissions.

Thequestionwhichmustnowbeasked,andanswered,iswhetherthe

EditorialBoard’seffortstofostera criticalapproachtolegalissueshasbeen