Foreword

• Date: 01 January 2024
• Author: The Hon. Mr Justice Michael Quinn

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Foreword

e strength and depth of research and writing talent among young lawyers and

academics is once again to be found in the high standard of contributions to this

the 23rd Edition of the Hibernian Law Journal. I commend the work of all the

contributors, the Editor in Chief and the Editorial Board. e contributors have

addressed some of the most complex and controversial issues of our time, and

proposed pathways grounded on solid research worthy of attention and debate by

practitioners and academics.

Julian Suarez has tackled the important subject of enhancing substantive and

procedural measures protecting the right to a safe and healthy environment.

e report published by the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss issued

in April 2023 and the subsequent report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee

on Environment and Climate Action demonstrate that there is support for

amendments to the Constitution for such a measure. Mr. Suarez examines the

current position by reference to the Aarhus Convention, EU Directives, the

Constitution and progressive case law in Ireland and elsewhere. He identies a

worldwide problem of compliance and enforcement of environmental laws and

describes the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly, as a “giant leap forward”.

He develops suggestions to meet the need for more than aspirational provisions,

and for specic content to establish identiable duties, both positive and negative.

Amy Doolan examines the eect on vaccine equity of the Trade Related Aspects

of Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPS), adopted by the World Trade

Organisation in 1994 and attempts made to ameliorate its eect in the face of public

health crises. She examines critically the justications for awarding and upholding

patents and questions whether the traditional approach, which so strongly supports

the protection and enforcement of patents, is an appropriate response to tensions

between the need for the incentivisation of product innovation on the one hand

and the right to health and access to medicines on the other hand. She examines the

operation of the TRIPS agreement and measures adopted, in response originally to

the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1990’s and to the Covid pandemic in 2020,

to ameliorate to the eects of rigid operation of the original TRIPS agreement.

ese included exceptions providing for compulsory licences and other waivers.

e author concludes that, the TRIPS Agreement is no longer t for purpose. She

argues that more is required than reform of the Agreement and identies a need

for a shi in the model for pharmaceutical innovation from private funding and

ownership to public funding and public ownership on appropriate terms. She

says that vaccine equity can only be achieved with such reforms and that it is an

imperative now to address these on an international basis before the next public

health crisis.

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