Public Interest Litigation and the Irish Legal System: All Crass and No Class?
| Author | Genevieve Coonan |
| Position | Junior Sophister (Law), Trinity College, Dublin |
| Pages | 44-55 |
PUBLIC
INTEREST
LAW
AND
THE
IRISH
LEGAL
SYSTEM:
ALL
CRASS
AND
No
CLASS?
GENEVIEVE
COONAN*
Ni
neart
go cur
le
ch~ile
-
With
unity
comes
strength
Introduction
Since
the
emergence
of
the
Industrial Revolution
in 1780,
Irish society
has
been
in
a
constant
state
of
flux.
Expansive socio-economic
reform,
heralded
by
the
introduction
of
a
complex
system
of
mass production,
has
brought about
great achievements
in
the fields
of
medicine
and science,
as
well
as
huge
technological
advances which
have
changed radically
the
concepts
of
both
home and
workplace.
This,
in
turn,
has
resulted
in
a
general
improvement
in
the
standard
of
living.
Nonetheless,
as
with
all
periods
of
major
societal
change,
the
problems
of
poverty
and
social
exclusion,
although ameliorated
to
some
extent, will nonetheless continue
to
afflict
certain
sectors
of
society. Inevitably
the gap widens
between
these
marginalised
groups
and
the
political
majority.
Public interest
litigation
is
invaluable
in
bridging
this
gap, and
within
this
article,
it
is
my
contention that the
adoption
of
a
class
action
procedure
in
this field
will
only
increase
its
efficacy
and
efficiency.
Contrary
to
popular
belief,
public
interest
law
has
been around
for
many
years and
perhaps
one
of
the earliest
examples
of
its
utilisation
was
that
of
the
abolitionists
during
the seventeenth
century.
It
has
been
used
consistently
in
the
past
few
years
by
political
activist
groups
in
the
pursuance
of
reforms
in
the
public policy
arena
and
its
effectiveness
is
greatly
enhanced
when
complemented
by
political agitation.
Public
interest
law
itself
involves
the
litigation
of
claims
grounded
in
statutory
instrument or
the
Constitution
which
seek
to
vindicate certain
social
and
economic
rights.
Although
the
legitimacy
of
those claims
grounded
in
the
Constitution
has
effectively
been
denied
in
the
case
of
T.D.
v.
Minister
for
Education,
1
Public
interest
claims
grounded
in
statute
continue
to
be
successfully
litigated
and
the
attractiveness
of
class
action
procedures
adopted
in
relation
to
these remains
apparent.
2
.
Junior Sophister (Law), Trinity
College, Dublin.
'Unreported,
Supreme Court,
17
December
2001.
2
For
example,
the
problems experienced
by FLAC
when
it
instituted
the
largest representative
action
to
date
against the
State on
behalf
of
1,700
women
claiming
social welfare
arrears
under
EC
could
have
been
mitigated
had
the claim
been
pursued
under
the
broader structure
of
the
class action
procedure.
For
public
interest
law
in
a
statutory
0
2002
Genevieve
Coonan
and
Dublin
University Law
Society
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