Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (; born 1967 in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

) is an Irish academic lawyer specialising in

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

Career

Ní Aoláin graduated from

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

1990, PhD 1998), and

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

(

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

1996). She was a Visiting Fellow of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

's Human Rights Program in 1994. At

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

she was an Associate-in-Law at

from 1994 to 1996, and then a visiting professor at the

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the List of schools of international relations in the United States, international affairs and public policy school, public policy school of Columbia University, a pri ...

from 1996 to 2000. She was appointed associate professor of law at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, Israel, from 1997 to 1999. Returning to the United States in 2001, she was a visiting fellow at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

from 2001 to 2002, at

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

from 2003 to 2004, then returned to Harvard Law School as visiting professor from 2012 to 2013. Law School University of Minnesota
/ref> Ní Aoláin was appointed by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

in December 2000 as a member of the

Irish Human Rights Commission The Irish Human Rights Commission has been merged with the Equality Authority. Both former organisations were dissolved and their functions transferred to a new statutory body, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission on 1 November 2014. The ...

, for which creation was mandated by the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

. She was a consultant to the

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...

and the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

's ''Study on Reparations for Conflict Related Sexual Violence'', 2011–2012. She is the Chair of the Board of the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...

International Women's Program, and was Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of the

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

2014, with

Oona A. Hathaway Oona Anne Hathaway (born 1972) is an American professor and lawyer. She is the founder and director of the Center for Global Legal Challenges at Yale Law School. She is also a professor of international and area studies at the MacMillan Center fo ...

and Larry D. Johnson.Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
/ref> She was an executive member of the American Society of International Law from 2009 to 2012, and of the

Committee on the Administration of Justice The Committee on the Administration of Justice (often known by the acronym CAJ) is an independent human rights organisation in Northern Ireland with cross-community membership. It was established in 1981 and lobbies and campaigns on a broad range o ...

(CAJ), in Northern Ireland. She is a member of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary R ...

, and was appointed by the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

as Special Expert on promoting gender equality in times of conflict and peace-making in 2003. She was nominated by the Irish government in 2004 to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

, and was both the first woman and the first academic lawyer to be nominated. She is concurrently professor of law at the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, where she teaches

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

and international human rights law. She is the founder and currently associate director of the

Transitional Justice Institute The Ulster University's Transitional Justice Institute (TJI), is a law-led multidisciplinary research institute of Ulster University which is physically located at the Jordanstown, and Magee campuses. It was created in 2003, making it the first a ...

, with

Dorsey & Whitney Dorsey & Whitney LLP (known as Dorsey) is an American law firm with over 500 lawyers, and a similar number of staff, located in 21 offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The firm's headquarters is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where ...

and as Professor of Law of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Law School. She is married to Oren Gross,

Irving Younger Irving Younger (born Irving Yoskowitz; November 30, 1932 – March 13, 1988) was an American lawyer, law professor, judge, and writer. He is well known among lawyers and law students for his energetic talks on effective trial advocacy and legal ...

professor of law at

Law School. In 2015 ''

Just Security New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

'' described her as concurrently serving as the

Chair in Law at the

and as a professor of law at the University of Ulster. In 2017, Ní Aoláin became the Special Rapporteur for Counter Terrorism and Human Rights. In November 2020, she intervened in the British Supreme Court case of

Begum v Home Secretary ''Begum v Home Secretary'' 021 UKSC 7 is the short name of three closely connected proceedings considered together in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, ''R (on the application of Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission; R (on ...

, to do with

Shamima Begum Shamima Begum (born 25 August 1999) is a British born woman, who left the UK in 2015 aged 15. She obtained entry to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In February 2019, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, acting for th ...

Books

*Ní Aoláin, ''The Politics of Force – Conflict Management and State Violence in Northern Ireland'' (

Blackstaff Press The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...

) (2000), *Ní Aoláin & Gross, Law in Times of Crisis – ''Emergency Powers in Theory and Practice'' (Cambridge University Press) (2006), . This book was awarded the

's Certificate of Merit for its contribution to creative scholarship. *Weissbrodt, Ní Aoláin, Fitzpatrick, and Newman, ''International Human Rights: Law, Policy and Process'' (2009) ( Lexis Pub, 4th ed.) (2009), *Ní Aoláin, Weissbrodt, Rumsey & Others, ''Selected International Human Rights Instruments and Bibliography for Research on International Human Rights'' (

LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...

, 4th ed.) (2009), *Ni Aoláin, Fionnuala, Hayes & Cahn, ''On the Frontlines: Women, War and the Post-Conflict Process'' (2011) (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

), *Ní Aoláin & Weissbrodt, ''Development of International Human Rights Law'' (2013), (

Ashgate Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...

) *Ni Aoláin (ed.), Gross (ed.), ''Guantánamo and Beyond: Exceptional Courts and Military Commissions in Comparative Perspective'', (Cambridge University Press), (2013),

Awards and recognition

* Ní Aoláin was the recipient of 1992-1994: Lawlor Foundation Award, 1993-1994:

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, 1997-99: Teaching awards (Provost list of excellent teachers) - Hebrew University. Israel. Ranked among top 10% of all University teachers. 1996-97: Robert Schuman Scholarship (Civil Liberties Division of the European Parliament) 1998-2001:

Yigal Allon Yigal Allon ( he, יגאל אלון; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician, commander of the Palmach, and general in the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Labor P ...

(All Israeli University-wide Arard to a promising academic) * Ní Aoláin was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

in May 2019.

References

{{Portal, Law Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Academics of Ulster University University of Minnesota faculty University of Minnesota Law School faculty Columbia Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty Living people 1965 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people People from County Galway International law scholars Members of the Royal Irish Academy United Nations special rapporteurs Irish officials of the United Nations