EU Rule of Law & Ukraine Crisis – Public Seminar

Arising from the continuing invasion of Ukraine, The Bar of Ireland and its EU Bar Association is hosting a public seminar on the legal ramifications of the invasion, as well as the issue of Rule of Law in the European Union.

In light of recent developments involving the Polish Constitutional Court and the CJEU, where a new judgement from the CJEU was delivered in February 2022, Advocate Mikolaj Pietrzak, Dean of the Warsaw Bar Association will discuss the recent European Court of Justice judgments, its impact on Poland and the Rule of Law, judicial independence.  He will also briefly discuss the ECHR rulings, how this affects extradition and other mutual recognition based instruments.

Asst. Prof David Fennelly BL, Trinity College Dublin will speak on War Crimes: International Courts and the Invasion of Ukraine.  As the atrocity of war becomes visible to all, what is the legal response and its impact on the rules based international order.

Anna Bazarchina BL, originally from Ukraine, will give a personal insight into this harrowing situation. Anna was called to the Bar in 2005, and specialises in Criminal and General Common Law.

David Conlan Smyth SC will chair the event. David specialises in European law, immigration and asylum law and maritime law. He is the Chair of the EU Bar Association and former Chairman of the Migration Law Committee of the Council of Bars and Law Societies in Brussels where he also represents the European Lawyers in Lesvos project.

Details

• Date: Tuesday: 15^th March: 4.15pm
• Online
• Registration is free at https://ti.to/BarofIreland/euba-15mar

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About: Advocate Mikołaj Pietrzak

Advocate Mikołaj Pietrzak is a graduate of the University of Warsaw Faculty of Law and Administration and a holder of the Cambridge University Certificate in English and European Law. Between 2010 and 2016 he was the Chairman of the Human Rights Council of the Polish Bar Council. As of November 2016 he is the Dean of the Warsaw Bar Council. In 2016, he was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as one of the five members of the Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. He is the recipient of the Edward Wende award, which recognizes lawyers who dedicate themselves to the fight for justice and defence of the public good.

Advocate Mikołaj Pietrzak is a member of a number of international organizations for lawyers including the European Criminal Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers in the United States of America and the Legal Experts Advisory Panel for Fair Trials International. He was a permanent representative of the Polish Bar at the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) in the Human Rights Commission and the CCBE Permanent Deputation at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He is a member of the International Criminal Court Bar Association. He is one of the founders of the Prof. Zbigniew Hołda Association, of which he is currently a member of the board of directors.

About Assistant Professor David Fennelly BL

David Fennelly’s research interests are primarily in the field of public law in its European and international dimensions, with particular interest in human rights, equality, data protection and foreign affairs.

In addition to his academic work, he is a practising barrister in the Law Library, Dublin. Drawing on his academic expertise, he has a special interest in EU and international law, particularly in the fields of human rights, equality and data protection, and regularly appears in proceedings before the Irish superior courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

About the EUBA