News "from Abroad"

This, from MOJ-friend (and Trinity College Dublin law prof) Gerry Whyte:

"During the week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that a woman could not insist on the implantation of in vitro embryos where her former partner objected. The Court's press statement on this case may be read here and the full judgment  here.

In essence, the Court held, inter alia, that, in the absence of a consensus among European states about the status of the embryo, each country has a margin of appreciation within which to address this issue and that UK legislation on the point was not contrary to the Convention on Human Rights.

A case on identical facts is currently on appeal to the Irish Supreme Court, the High Court having held that the guarantee of the right to life in Article 40.3.3 of our Constitution applies only in the context of pregnancy and so not to in vitro embryos."