Today, Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at a time of significant geopolitical uncertainty, ongoing armed conflict, and growing challenges to democratic institutions. Against this backdrop, the rule of law remains central to protecting fundamental rights, maintaining democratic accountability and strengthening public trust.
Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the rule of law is likely to feature prominently across the European agenda. Recent polling by European Movement Ireland demonstrates that, while support for EU membership remains strong across the island of Ireland, confidence in institutions and perceptions of the EU's core values are under pressure.
At moments of political uncertainty, the rule of law becomes more than an abstract constitutional principle. It is the framework through which democratic accountability, judicial independence, human rights protections and public trust are sustained. In an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, it also serves as a stabilising force underpinning peaceful cooperation between states and institutions.
Ireland's Presidency presents an opportunity not merely to act as a consensus-builder within the European Union, but also as a credible advocate for rule-of-law leadership grounded in rights, accountability and democratic resilience.
For many years, Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI), an initiative of the Law Societies and Bars of Ireland and Northern Ireland, has contributed to Ireland's wider international engagement through practical, partnership-based legal cooperation. Supported by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and justice-sector professionals across the island of Ireland, IRLI has developed a distinctive model of peer-to-peer engagement in support of international rule-of-law development.
Central to IRLI's approach is partnership. Through collaboration between judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other justice-sector professionals, IRLI supports partners in strengthening justice institutions and improving access to justice, while demonstrating how legal expertise and professional relationships can contribute to wider diplomatic and development objectives.
That work includes justice initiatives in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia aimed at improving access to justice and strengthening judicial practice. Lessons from mobile courts in Malawi - where courts are temporarily set up on the grounds of detention facilities to help decongest severe prison overcrowding - has helped inform their adaptation and adoption in Zambia, while Irish judicial training on avoiding re-traumatisation of vulnerable groups, first delivered in Tanzania, has since been adapted and delivered in Zambia through peer-to-peer cooperation. IRLI has also facilitated judicial exchanges with counterparts from Ukraine involving institutions in Dublin and Belfast, drawing on expertise in areas including accountability and atrocity crimes.
As Ireland begins its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, organisations such as IRLI demonstrate that Ireland possesses not only a strong commitment to European values, but also practical expertise capable of supporting them through meaningful international partnerships.
Words by Sean McHale, IRLI Deputy Executive Director & Director of Programmes