Liam Herrick

    Law

    Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Law

    About

    Liam Herrick, Honorary Senior Lecturer
     
    Liam Herrick is currently the Executive Director for the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. Prior to this he was the Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust from 2007 until the beginning of 2014, during which time he helped to establish the IPRT as the leading independent voice on penal matters in Ireland and oversaw an ambitious programme of research, awareness raising and campaigning work.
     
    This involved engaging with international human rights treaty bodies on their monitoring and examination of Ireland’s compliance with its international obligations, and leveraging these processes to advance reform of Irish law and policy. He has worked closely with the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and maintained regular contact with the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. Nationally, Liam worked closely with key statutory bodies involved in the protection of rights in Ireland, including the Inspector of Prisons, the Ombudsman for Children, and the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as with State institutions such as the Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service and the Irish Youth Justice Service. In September 2012, he was appointed by Minister Shatter as a member of the Strategic Review Group on Penal Policy.
     
    In recognition of the close connection between penal policy and wider social policy, Liam also initiated new areas of work for the IPRT, including research and campaigning activities “Shifting the Focus for Criminal Justice to Social Justice”; and “The Vicious Cycle of Social Exclusion and Crime”.
     
    Liam has previously worked for the Irish Human Rights Commission, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties; and Law Reform Commission. He holds a BCL and an LL.M. from University College Cork and a Diploma in European Human Rights Law from University College Dublin. He has also lectured on Human Rights topics at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. In April 2013, he was appointed as a Commissioner Designate of the Human Rights and Equality Commission.
     
    In January 2014, Liam was appointed as Advisor to President Michael D Higgins.