Trinity Long Room Hub
18 September 2025
Programme
To mark its 50th Anniversary, the Law Reform Commission of Ireland is partnering with the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance (TriCON) to host an academic conference on the history and future of law reform. The conference will take place in Trinity College Dublin on the afternoon of Thursday 18 September, the day before a related conference in Dublin Castle organised by the Law Reform Commission itself, Half a Century of Change: The Journey of Law Reform.
In a politically polarised world, the challenge of law reform is greater than ever. How can appropriate subjects for law reform be identified? What form of democratic processes are required to legitimise law reform? What roles do and should stakeholders and lobby groups play in the process of law reform? How can political support be built for urgently needed law reform? The papers selected for this conference address these and other questions.
| 12.30-1.30 | Registration and light lunch |
|---|---|
| 1.30-1.45pm | Welcome and opening remarks |
| 1.45-3.05pm | Session 1
Legal Change outside Law Reform Institutions |
| Nevi Agapiou, Functional Law Reform: The Distinctive Case of Cyprus | |
| Alan Eustace and Michael Doherty, The Many About-Faces of Labour Law Reform in Ireland | |
| James Rooney, Multi-Party Litigation and the Limits of Law Reform in Ireland | |
| Jennifer Schweppe, Amanda Haynes and Luke Danagher, The Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024: A Scottish Act ‘emblazoned with the harp’? | |
| 3.05-3.25pm | Coffee |
| 3.25-4.45pm | Session 2
Law Reform Institutions |
| Adam Elebert, The Role and Value of Law Reform Institutions in Constitutional Referendums | |
| Stephen Marren, From Disarray to Order: The Role of Codification and Law Reform Bodies | |
| David Plater and Emily Conroy, A Win-Win Situation? A South Australian Perspective on the Mutual Benefits of Collaboration between Law Students and Law Reform Bodies | |
| Mark Coen, The False Promise of ‘Law Reform’: The Law on Juries as a Case Study | |
| 4.45-5.05pm | Coffee |
| 5.05-6.25pm | Session 3
Law Reform: Past, Present, and Future |
| Alice Diver, Law reform [as redress] for Survivors/Victims of Mother-Baby Institutions in Northern Ireland: Public Consultation as a perpetuation of unseen partialities? | |
| Niamh Howlin, Law Reform before the Law Reform Commission | |
| Michael McGrath, The Introduction of Land Registration | |
| Suzanne Scott, The Power of Stories to Influence Law Reform | |
| 6.26-6.35pm | Closing remarks |
More information on this event is available here.