The Irish Society for European Law came into being at a meeting of academic and practising lawyers at Buswell’s Hotel Dublin in 1973, the same year as Ireland acceded to the then European Communities.
The Society’s purpose is to:
- advance the study of, and disseminate information relating to European Law (covering both EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights) in Ireland
- promote the awareness amongst the Irish public of the impact that membership of the EU has on Ireland and the Irish legal system
- act as the Irish member organisation of the Federation of European Law (FIDE).
The Society has sought to fulfil this purpose through a variety of different means. Since its creation the Society has hosted public meetings, seminars and conferences featuring eminent national and international speakers on the widest range of European law issues. What had originally been the Journal of the Irish Society for European Law became, in 1992, the Irish Journal of European Law and developed a standing as the preeminent Irish journal dedicated to European law.
The Society highly values its international dimension. As the Irish member organisation of FIDE the Society’s members participate in the biannual FIDE Congress along with other national European law Associations and compile national reports on the state of progress in Ireland on the particular EU law topics set for each Congress.
The Society’s membership is not restricted to lawyers and is open to all those with an interest in European law and its impact in Ireland.