Judge Hugh Mercer KC

The UK judge on the European Court of Human Rights is now a member of the centre’s advisory council, which meets twice yearly to advise its board on legal education in European human rights law and EU law.

Mr Justice Anthony M. Collins, president of ICEL, said: “The centre and its board welcomes Judge Mercer to our advisory council on his appointment as a vice-president of the centre.

“Judge Mercer joins his predecessor in respect of the United Kingdom, Sir Tim Eicke KC, who also serves on the centre’s Northern Ireland committee, and Ireland’s current and former members of the European Court of Human Rights — Judge Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, former ECHR president Professor Síofra O’Leary and the Hon Mr Justice John Hedigan — on the advisory council.

“Together with our current and former judges at the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, our advisory council members play a leading role in legal education on European law.”

Professor Chris McCudden, chairperson of ICEL’s Northern Ireland committee, added: “The ICEL in Northern Ireland is very fortunate to have both Judges Mercer and Eicke engaged in strengthening our programme of legal education in the area of human rights.

“Judge Mercer contributed as a practitioner to the development of the human rights law in Northern Ireland, in particular as counsel acting for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

“Judge Mercer is an outstanding choice for Strasbourg, and will be invaluable to the centre’s work in Northern Ireland.”

Judge Mercer was elected judge in respect of the United Kingdom at the European Court of Human Rights and took office in September 2025.

He is a graduate of Downing College, Cambridge and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1985 and commenced practise in 1987, lately practising from Essex Court Chambers.

He was a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland from 2018, an avocat at the Bar of Brabant Wallon from 2018 and at the Bar of Bruxelles from 2020.

He took silk in 2008 and was appointed a deputy High Court judge in 2018, sitting in the King’s Bench Division and the Administrative Court.

The Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL) is based at the School of Law in Trinity College Dublin and was founded in 1988 by Dr Mary Robinson SC, who served as its first director prior to becoming president of Ireland.