Editorial
| Author | Brian Ó Beirne |
| Pages | 11-13 |
EDITORIAL
"Law"
-
there
is
perhaps nothing
that
bears
quite
so
strongly
on
the
human
condition.
It
permeates
every
aspect
of
human
affairs, from
the
administrative
role
it
plays co-ordinating
communities
and
regulating
enterprise,
to
its
recognition
and
protection
of
fundamental
rights
embodying
some
of
the
most
intimate aspects
of
human
nature,
Law's
purchase
over
the
individual's
conscience
-
its
power
to
shape
behaviour
-
is
unparalleled.
Conversely,
it
would
seem
that
no
other
force
of
this
magnitude,
social
or
otherwise,
is
so
consistently
ignored
by
those
subject
to
it
-
so
taken
for
granted
in
its
day-to-day
existence.
It
is
precisely
this,
the
individual's
implicit
and
unarticulated
acceptance
of
Law's
weighty
demands,
that
is
the
source
of
Law's
power.
As
such,
our
Law
is
a
reflection
on
us;
it
reflects
the
ideals
that
we
hold
dear,
but
also
our
tacit
consent
to
injustices
-
our failings
as
a
community
of
inter-dependent
individuals.
Whilst
it
is
the
layman's
silent
consent
to
the status
quo
which
gives
Law
its
power,
it falls
to
the
legal
scholar
to
challenge
Law's
pretences;
to
aspire to
a
fairer
conception
of
justice.
Since
its
inception
the
Trinity
College
Law
Review
has
aimed
to
provide
a
forum for
such
an
endeavour.
In
continuing
this
tradition,
the
Editorial
Board
are
proud
to
present you,
the
reader,
with
Volume
XIII.
Through
its
incisive
examination
of
a
wide
range
of
socially
momentous
subjects,
the
articles
in
this
Volume
address
some
of
the
most pressing
issues
of
the
day,
exploring
the
responsibilities
that
we face
as
a
global
community,
and
striking
at
the
heart
of
the social
order
here
in
Ireland.
Megan
Leonard
Kane,
in
her
article
Lesbian
Co-Parenting
and
Assisted
Reproduction:
In
an
Age
of
Increasing
Alternative
Family
Forms,
Can
Ireland
Continue
to
Ignore
the
Need
for
Legislative
Boundaries
to
be
Placed
on
"Fertile"
Ground?,
assesses the
need
for
statutory
regulation
of
in
vitro
fertilisation treatment
in
light
of
the
shortcomings
of
the
judiciary's
case-by-case approach
to
a
sensitive
topic
with political,
social and
ethical
dimensions.
Marking
2010
as
the
National
Year
of
Biodiversity, Niamh
O'Sullivan,
in
her
article
Combating Biodiversity
Loss:
An
Analysis
of
Compensatory
Measures under
the
proffers
a
timely
analysis
of
the
compensatory
measures
required
by
EC
conservation
law
and gauges
whether
the
rules
in
place
at
present
are
sufficient
for
the
protection
of
biodiversity
in
Europe.
In
their
article
I
Can't
Get
No
Satisfaction:
An
Analysis
of
the
Influence
of
the
on
the
Repossession
of
Public
Housing
in
Ireland,
Caroline
Carney,
Loma
Nic
Lochlainn,
Siobhdn
O'Donoghue
and
Tom
Power
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