The administration of justice in a multicultural society and the human rights of the child were among the topics discussed at a national conference of judges over the weekend.
Ms Anastasia Crickley and Mr Kensika Monshengwo, both of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Multiculturalism, and Dr Ursula Kilkelly, an expert on children and the law from UCC, spoke at the conference.
Other speakers included Mr Paul Anthony McDermott and Prof Dermot Walsh on delay and prejudice in the prosecution of criminal offences, Law Lord Slynn of Hadley on judicial co-operation in the EU and Judge Bryon McMahon on future work of the Judicial Studies Institute (JSI).
The JSI organised the conference, and organises regular educational seminars for members of the judiciary. Judges from every court jurisdiction, from the District Court to the Supreme Court, meet and discuss matters of joint concern.
Over the past seven years, approximately 35 seminars have been organised, addressed by social workers, academics, journalists and visiting judges from abroad. The chairman of the institute, the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, said after the conference: "Such occasions offered an opportunity not just to assess the work of the judiciary but for judges to keep abreast of societal changes."