The President of the Law Society of Ireland, Michael Quinlan, launched the first Council of Europe HELP course in Ireland.

The launch of the course on Business and Human Rights, a free online course developed by the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme of the Council of Europe, was strongly supported by the Law Society of Ireland (LSI) European Union and International Affairs Committee and its Chairman, Martin Cooney. The role of this committee, monitoring developments of International and European law is particularly relevant in the Brexit context.

Complementing the general presentation of the HELP Programme by Eva Massa solicitor and LSI course manager as well as HELP certified tutor, outlined the main content of the Irish version of the course and provided practical guidance on how to navigate in the HELP e-learning platform.

While the legal framework rests on the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP), the Council of Europe’s action is becoming stronger thanks to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee on Social and Economic Rights as well as the adoption of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 on human rights and business by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Building on the "protect, respect and remedy" framework, the Recommendation underlines the importance of ensuring effective remedies and targeting vulnerable groups such as children or indigenous peoples.

The importance of extraterritoriality, by which 21st century companies domiciled on European soil cannot violate human rights abroad, was brilliantly illustrated by Tommy Reilly, solicitor and member of the LSI Human Rights Committee, who provided the example of Irish founded "Kingspan’s Group", insisting on the need of international companies to pay particular attention to their anti-corruption, procurement and environmental policies and ensure supply chains free from human rights violations. Combining earnings with society benefits and respect to human rights and the environment is vital.

Interesting discussions ensued among the participants, mainly solicitors working for, or advising, multinational companies. Some were also active in the fields of migration and asylum. Representatives from the Communication Regulatory Authority and from the Prosecutor’s Office also attended the launch organised by the Law Society of Ireland in its premises in Dublin.

While the national version adapted to the Irish legal order and practice will be publicly available June 2018, the HELP model course on business and human rights (international and European standards) is accessible at the HELP e-learning platform.