THE HIGH Court has granted permission to the Irish Human Rights Commission to appear before it to present arguments in four deportation cases involving Irish children.
Having been granted a role in the proceedings known as amicus curiae(friend of the court), the commission plans to highlight the protections afforded to family rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and children's rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It will also highlight the importance of having a proper independent appeals mechanism in relation to deportation orders issued by the Minister for Justice.
The cases are judicial review applications brought by Nigerian parents and siblings of Irish citizen children challenging deportation decisions against a parent. In at least one case, the deportation of the parent could lead to the effective expulsion of the Irish citizen child as no other parent lives in Ireland to care for the child.
Éamonn Mac Aodha, chief executive of the Human Rights Commission, said he understood a large number of similar cases involving Irish citizen children are pending before the High Court. He said the intervention of the commission was timely and should be of assistance to the court in its deliberations.
It is believed that more than 100 parents of Irish citizen children are facing possible deportation.