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Areas of Practice
Human Rights, Constitutional and European Law
Like the USA, Ireland has a written Constitution and as in other European member states, European Union Treaties, regulations and directives have a substantial impact on Domestic Law. Gallagher Shatter has been to the forefront in innovative Constitutional and European Law actions which have benefited our clients and many others affected by our landmark court decisions.
For example in the “Murphy Tax case”, income tax laws that discriminated against married couples were struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court to the benefit of all married couples in the State. In the “Cotter and McDermott case” the European Court in Luxembourg held the Irish Social Welfare code to violate European Law. As a consequence of this and subsequent cases thousands of women all over Ireland were entitled to Social Welfare payments previously denied to them. The firm presently has a case pending before the European Court in Strasbourg alleging a violation by Ireland of provisions contained in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
For appointments contact Brian Gallagher, Aidan Reynolds, and Catherine Ghent