Publication
The Inaugural AGO and CSSO Public Law Conference
From Office of the Attorney General
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On Friday 11 October 2024, the Office of the Attorney General held its inaugural “AGO and CSSO Public Law Conference”, hosted by the Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC, and the Chief State Solicitor, Maria Browne at The Convention Centre Dublin. The Conference brought together more than 500 relevant stakeholders and experts, including the Attorney General of Northern Ireland, Dame Brenda King, prominent members of the Irish Superior Courts’ Judiciary, scores of State Counsel, from both the Inner and Outer Bar, and key representatives from client Government Departments. These groups were also joined by sizeable cohorts from both the Attorney General’s Office, Merrion Street (“AGO”) (which includes the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government (“OPC”)) and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (“CSSO”).
The Conference was opened by the Attorney General, who welcomed the attendees and spoke passionately about the important role of the law officers in the system of governance established under Bunreacht na hÉireann.
He emphasised that it is thanks to those working in the AGO and CSSO, together with officials in Government Departments, that the Government’s legislation is drafted, its litigation managed and its legal queries answered. He remarked that:
“What better way of highlighting the expertise and pivotal role of our offices in the public law field than hosting a conference of this nature.”
Following this welcome, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan kicked off proceedings in earnest, delivering a keynote paper addressing certain trends in constitutional reform, entitled “Four score and seven years of the Constitution: A new birth of freedom”. Mr Justice Hogan was joined in this session by discussants Professor Eoin Carolan SC, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies at UCD, and Professor Aileen Kavanagh, Professor of Constitutional Governance and Law at Trinity College Dublin, as well as June Reardon, Chief Parliamentary Counsel to the Government, who has overseen and been involved in the drafting of constitutional amendments. The ensuing and often lively discussion on the direction and desirability of certain types of Constitutional reform was overseen and moderated by Úna McEvoy, a senior Advisory Counsel in the AGO.
In the afternoon’s second session, Judge Suzanne Kingston of the General Court of the European Union and Professor Conor Gearty of the London School of Economics presented papers on the subject “EU/ECHR Influencer vs Common Law Traditionalist – Team-mates or Rivals?” This dialogue on the merits and means by which EU and ECHR law interacts with Ireland’s system of common law was joined by David Kelly, a senior Advisory Counsel in the AGO, and was chaired by Ciara Murphy, Assistant Chief State Solicitor in the CSSO.
The Chief State Solicitor Maria Browne closed the Conference, thanking the contributors for their thoughts and ideas, and emphasising the critical value and utility of the work of the CSSO and AGO in the public law sphere.
The Conference was followed by a networking reception.
The Conference marked the first time that the Office of the Attorney General, including the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, have hosted an event of this magnitude and ambition. However, it is hoped that the event will become an annual fixture on the Irish legal calendar, and will in due course constitute a leading forum for public law debate and discourse.
Image: Panel at conference
Image: Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC
Image: Chief State Solicitor Maria Browne
Image: June Reardon, Chief Parliamentary Counsel to the Government
Image: Mr Justice Gerard Hogan
Image: Professor Eoin Carolan SC
Image: Professor Conor Gearty
Image: Professor Aileen Kavanagh
Image: Judge Suzanne Kingston