Maeve O"Rourke

Work Department

Public law and human rights; children and families; civil.

About

• Introduction
• Publications
• Notable Cases
• Qualifications
• Awards & Prizes
• Direct Access

Position

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Civil
• Family
• International Criminal Law
• International Human Rights Law
• International Law
• International Law in Domestic Courts

Expertise: domestic and international human rights; public law, discrimination and employment; private and public child law proceedings; financial remedies and child abduction; personal injury, child abuse and institutional abuse; mental health; restorative justice. Maeve joined Thomas Bingham Chambers in 2013 following a pupillage in a leading set and secondment to a major human rights firm. She has the unique distinction of having had a junior brief in the Supreme Court in her own right during her pupillage and has been the recipient of the prestigious Harvard Law School Global Human Rights Fellowship. Maeve was honoured as the Jordans Publishing Family Law Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year 2013 for her internationally recognised campaigning work for ‘Justice for Magdalenes’ (see www.magdalenelaundries.com). She is a skilled musician and enjoys a variety of sports. Decided cases: In the Matter of A (Children) [2013] UKSC 60.

Career

Call 2012; New York 2011. Selected publications and conference papers: Family Law Week, ‘Burial of a Child’s Remains – Resolving Parental Disputes’ (2013) http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed112114; THE PUBLIC LIFE OF PRIVATE LAW, ESRC Seminar Series (University of Warwick, 2013) ‘Justice for Magdalenes outside court: the public pressure and international legal campaign for reparation for Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries abuse’; EQUALITY: ARE WE THERE YET? (Kent Law School, University of Kent, 2012) Keynote speaker at plenary session on gender equality (2012); GENDER, LAW AND REPARATIONS: CRITICAL LESSONS FROM PRACTICE (Kent Law School, University of Kent, 2012) ‘Seeking justice for Ireland’s Magdalene Laundry survivors through national and international human rights mechanisms’; HARVARD LAW SCHOOL HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM SPEAKER SERIES (2011) ‘Abuse by Church and State: The Hidden Story of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries’; LAW, STATE AND RELIGION (University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, 2011) ‘Human Rights for Magdalene Survivors: Moving Towards Restorative Justice and Reparations’; CREATING CHANGE: FEMINISM, THE UNIVERSITY AND SOCIETY (University College Dublin, 2011) ‘Justice for Magdalenes: The Legal Campaign’; HIBERNIAN LAW JOURNAL, VOL. 10 (2011) ‘Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries and the State’s Failure to Protect’; UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN LAW REVIEW, VOL. 9 (2009) ‘Human Rights and Smart Economics: Mainstreaming Gender in International Trade Policy’.

Notable Cases

In the Matter of A (Children) [2013] UKSC 60

This international child abduction case concerned the question of whether the High Court had jurisdiction to order the ‘return’ of a small child who was born in Pakistan and had never been present in England. Maeve appeared as junior Counsel to Baroness Patricia Scotland QC for The Centre for Family Law and Practice (intervening). Reported here.

The Bodo Community and others v Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd [2014] EWHC 1973 (TCC)

Maeve worked as an employed barrister with Leigh Day solicitors on this claim by 15,000 residents of the Bodo and Gokona areas of the Niger Delta, seeking damages against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria for oil spills that occurred in 2008. Reported here.

Education

B.C.L. International (University College Dublin) – First Class Honours; LL.M. (Harvard Law School); BPTC (BPP) – Outstanding; Family Law Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 2013; ‘Forgotten Irish’ Award, Ireland Fund of Great Britain, 2013; Arthur C Helton Fellow, American Society of International Law, 2012; Lord Mansfield Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn, 2011; Global Shaper, World Economic Forum, 2011; Global Human Rights Fellow, Harvard Law School, 2010.

Awards & Prizes

Family Law Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 2013
‘Forgotten Irish’ Award, Ireland Fund of Great Britain, 2013
Arthur C Helton Fellow, American Society of International Law, 2012
Lord Mansfield Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn, 2011
Global Shaper, World Economic Forum, 2011
Global Human Rights Fellow, Harvard Law School, 2010