AGO and CSSO Public Law Conference 2025

On Thursday, 2 October 2025, the Office of the Attorney General held the second edition of its “AGO and CSSO Public Law Conference”, hosted by the Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC, and the Chief State Solicitor, Maria Browne in the Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin. The Conference brought together more than 500 relevant stakeholders and experts, including prominent members of the Irish Superior Courts’ Judiciary, scores of State Counsel, from both the Inner and Outer Bar, and key representatives from client Government Departments. These groups were also joined by sizeable cohorts from both the Attorney General’s Office, Merrion Street (“AGO”) (which includes the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government (“OPC”)) and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (“CSSO”).

The Conference was opened by the Chief State Solicitor, Maria Browne, who welcomed the attendees to the Mansion House and spoke passionately about the work of the CSSO and the responsibility of Government lawyers to ensure the rule of law was meaningfully guaranteed.

Following this welcome, proceedings kicked off in earnest, with a discussion between the Attorney General, Rossa Fanning SC, and the Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Richard Hermer KC, on the subject of “Government Lawyers and the Rule of Law”. Moderated by Margaret Kelleher, Parliamentary Counsel, the discussion covered such matters as the importance of the rule of law, the task of advising Governments in a rule of law compliant manner and the contribution of the rule of law not only to a just society but a prosperous one too.

In particular, the Attorney General, Rossa Fanning SC, emphasised that he was proud to be:

Former President of the European Court of Human Rights, Síofra O’Leary and Chief Justice of Ireland, Donal O’Donnell, were the keynote speakers for the second session. The speakers offered their own perspective on the theme of “Respect for Rights and Values in a Complex Europe: National and Supranational Perspectives”, before being joined for a subsequent panel discussion by Jonathan Buttimore, Advisory Counsel at the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland.

The dialogue, moderated and chaired by Christine Comiskey, Assistant Chief State Solicitor, covered critical topics such as the interaction between national and supranational legal frameworks, the margin of appreciation afforded to national courts and the competences of national courts to determine questions of potentially supranational application.

The Director General of the Office of the Attorney General, Damien Moloney, closed the Conference, thanking the contributors for their thoughts and ideas, and emphasising the critical value and utility of the work of the CSSO and AGO in the public law sphere.

The Conference was followed by a networking lunch.

This is only the second occasion that the Office of the Attorney General Ireland and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office have hosted an event of this magnitude and ambition, but it is already well on its way to becoming an annual fixture on the Irish legal calendar, as a leading forum for public law debate and discourse.