Thomas Hickey

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Dr. Tom Hickey is Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government at DCU. He specialises in constitutional law and theory, and has published in the leading journals in those fields, including in the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, the International Journal of Constitutional LawPublic Law and Legal Studies.


Along with Prof Oran Doyle, Tom has co-authored one of the authoritative texts in Irish constitutional law, Constitutional Law: Texts, Cases & Materials (Clarus, 2019). He is the co-editor of Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution (MUP, 2017), and co-author (with Dr. Eoin Daly) of The Political Theory of the Irish Constitution: Republicanism and the Basic Law (MUP, 2015). 


Dr. Hickey has given papers at academic conferences and universities all over the world, and in 2022, was invited to deliver the keynote to the assembled judges of the Irish superior courts at the Superior Courts Conference in the King's Inns, Dublin. Dr. Hickey has been consulted by government, parliamentary committees and media on matters relating to his research. His scholarly work is regularly cited by the Irish Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. He was appointed as the constitutional law expert to the Expert Advisory Panel to the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality in 2019, serving until the Assembly completed its work in 2021.

Dr. Hickey was appointed as a Visiting Teaching Professor at Université Montesquieu, Bordeaux IV in 2015. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford in 2020, and a visiting scholar at the University of Glasgow (2012) and at Princeton University (2009). He won the DCU President’s Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2015, and was nominated again in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023.  


Dr. Hickey holds degrees from NUI Galway and Cambridge University. His scholarly papers can be accessed herehere and here

Book

Year Publication
2019 Oran Doyle and Tom Hickey (2019) Constitutional Law: Texts, Cases and Materials. Dublin: Clarus Press.
2017 Laura Cahillane, James Gallen, Tom Hickey (2017) Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Link]
2015 Eoin Daly and Tom Hickey (2015) The Political Theory of the Irish Constitution: Republicanism and the Basic Law. : Manchester University Press.

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) 'Judges and the political organs of State' In: The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
2019 Oran Doyle and Tom Hickey (2019) 'Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in Contemporary Constitutional Systems' In: Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in Contemporary Constitutional Systems. London : Brill Publishers.
2018 Tom Hickey and Eoin Daly (2018) 'The Constitution and judicial power: theoretical perspectives' In: Judicial Power in Ireland. Dublin : Institute of Public Administration.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) 'Judges, democracy, and the idea of 'principle' in constitutional adjudication' In: Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution. Manchester : Manchester University Press. [Link]
2013 Tom Hickey (2013) 'Our Constitution and Our Politics: Why Political Culture Matters and Constitutional Text Does Not!' In: Theo Dorgan(Eds.). Foundation Stone: Notes Towards a Constitution for a 21st Century Republic. Dublin : New Island Books.
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) 'Civic Virtue, Autonomy and Religious Schools: What Would Machiavelli Do?' In: Fintan O'Toole(Eds.). Up the Republic! Towards a New Ireland. London : Faber & Faber.

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2022 Tom Hickey (2022) 'Legitimacy - not justice - and the case for judicial review'. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 42 (3). [Link] https://academic.oup.com/ojls/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ojls/gqac009/6591511
2022 Tom Hickey (2022) 'Reading TD Down'. Judicial Studies Institute Journal, (03). [Link]
2021 Hickey, T. (2021) 'Interpreting natural rights: Gorry and ‘the family’ under Article 41'. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 43 . [Link] [DOI]
2020 Tom Hickey (2020) 'Justiciability and proceedings in the Oireachtas: the case of Angela Kerins'. Public Law, .
2020 Hickey, T. (2020) 'Hercules as a feminist judge? Revisiting Rackley's 'Little Mermaid' in the wake of the feminist judgments projects'. Legal Studies, 40 . [Link] [DOI]
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) 'The republican core of the case for judicial review'. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 17 (1). [Link] [DOI]
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) 'The republican core of the case for judicial review: a rejoinder to Richard Bellamy'. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 17 (1). [Link] [DOI]
2018 Tom Hickey (2018) 'Popular sovereignty in Irish constitutional law'. Dublin University Law Journal, .
2016 Tom Hickey (2016) 'The Republican Virtues of the 'New Commonwealth Model of Constitutionalism''. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2016 (14 (4)):794-816.
2015 Tom Hickey (2015) 'Revisiting Ryan v Lennon to make the case against judicial supremacy (and for a new model of constitutionalism in Ireland)'. Irish Jurist, 53 :125-153.
2011 Tom Hickey and Eoin Daly (2011) 'Religious Freedom and the Right to Discriminate in the School Admissions Context: A Neorepublican Critique'. Legal Studies, 31 :615-643.
2011 Daly E.; Hickey T. (2011) 'Religious freedom and the 'right to discriminate' in the school admissions context: A neo-republican critique'. Legal Studies, 31 (4):615-643. [DOI]
2020 Doyle, Oran; Hickey, Tom (2020) 'The Use of Foreign Law in Irish Constitutional Adjudication'. JUDICIAL COSMOPOLITANISM: THE USE OF FOREIGN LAW IN CONTEMPORARY CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMS, :69-93. [DOI]
2009 Tom Hickey (2009) 'Domination and the Hijab in Irish Schools'. Dublin University Law Journal, 31 .
2016 Hickey, T. (2016) 'The republican virtues of the new commonwealth model of constitutionalism'. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 14 . [Link] [DOI]

Other Journal

Year Publication
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) 'Review of Kelly: The Irish Constitution' 18 .
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) 'Republicanism, the Distribution of Power and the Westminster Model of Government: Lessons from 20th Century Irish Constitutionalism' 4 .

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2020 Tom Hickey (2020) British and Irish Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Roundtable Roundtable on Legal Reasoning of the Irish Supreme Court, with Mr Justice John MacMenamin Dublin City University, 23/01/2020-.
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) Oxford Faculty of Law Seminar on Comparative Constitutionalism The republican case for judicial review University of Oxford, 07/06/2019-.
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) University of Edinburgh Constitutional Law Discussion Group Workshop on 'The republican core of the case for judicial review' School of Law, University of Edinburgh, 07/05/2019-.
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) British and Irish Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Annual Conference: Sovereignty, Populism and Constitutional Politics Justiciability and proceedings of the Irish Oireachtas: the case of Angela Kerins University College Cork, 30/08/2019-31/08/2019.
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) Law and Literature: The Irish Case Interpretation and the Irish Constitution All Hallows Campus, Dublin City University, 06/04/2019-.
2018 Tom Hickey (2018) Identity, security and democracy: challenges for public law The republican core of the case for judicial review The University of Hong Kong, 25/06/2018-27/06/2018.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) ICON-S British and Irish Chapter Inaugural Conference, Trinity College Dublin Dialogic judicial review in normative lens Trinity College Dublin, 04/09/2017-05/09/2017.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) Constitution at 80, University of Limerick Popular sovereignty after Pringle v Govt of Ireland University of Limerick, 11/11/2017-11/11/2017.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) The Law and Politics of Brexit – Constitutional Challenges in Regional and European Perspective Response to Prof Stephen Tierney, Brexit and the 'English' Constitution Dublin City University, 20/04/2017-.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) The Judiciary, the State and Social Change, NUI Galway School of Law Conference Judges and social change under different models of constitutionalism National University of Ireland, Galway, 05/04/2017-05/04/2017.
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) Courts, Power and Public Law - ICON-S Annual Conference, University of Copenhagen The republican core of the case for (weak-form) judicial review University of Copenhagen, 05/07/2017-07/07/2017.
2016 Tom Hickey (2016) Public Law Conference: The Unity of Public Law, University of Cambridge Vindicating rights across common law jurisdictions: a republican critique University of Cambridge, 14/09/2016-16/09/2016.
2016 Tom Hickey (2016) British-Irish Chapter of the International Society for Public Law (ICON-S) Constitutional Silence Symposium Beyond silence and censure in the collaborative constitution, response to Aileen Kavanagh Boston College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, 31/08/2016-31/08/2016.
2016 Tom Hickey (2016) State Accountability for Vulnerability conference, Dublin City University Vulnerability and social rights: what role for judges? Dublin City University, 09/09/2016-09/09/2016.
2016 Tom Hickey (2016) EUROfeel Symposium on European constitutionalism 1916 and Irish constitutionalism in European perspective Université de Bordeaux, 18/03/2016-18/03/2016.
2015 Tom Hickey (2015) Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law Annual Conference - 'Developing Democracy' Judicial Power in a Republican Democracy St. John's College, University of Cambridge, 08/05/2015-09/05/2015.
2014 Tom Hickey (2014) Irish Philosophical Society 'Aspects of Freedom' Conference 2014 Rights and freedom in the Irish constitutional setting University College Cork, 07/03/2014-07/03/2014.
2014 Tom Hickey (2014) DCU School of Law and Government Inaugural Conference 'Judges, Politics and the Irish Constitution' Judicial Power in a Republican Democracy Dublin City University, 04/09/2014-04/09/2014.
2014 Tom Hickey (2014) Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference Republican Popular Control and the New Commonwealth Model of Constitutionalism Galway Bay Hotel, Galway, 17/10/2014-19/10/2014.
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) Irish Jurisprudence Society, Autumn Workshop Series Responsible Government and the Distribution of Power: Lessons from Ireland Trinity College Dublin, 09/11/2012-.
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) Douglas Hyde Conference 2012: A Constitution for a 21st Century Republic The Distribution of Political Power under the Westminster Model of Government Douglas Hyde School, 28/10/2012-.
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) NUI Galway Lunchtime Seminar Series The Constitutions of 1919 and 1922: Old Reform Ideas for a New Century NUI Galway, 03/10/2012-.
2011 Tom Hickey (2011) Burren Law School 2011: Imagining a New Republic Are Denominational Schools Compatible with Republican Idealism? Burren Law School, 01/05/2011-03/05/2011.
2008 Tom Hickey (2008) Irish Jurisprudence Society Spring Workshop Series Natural Law and the Accommodation of Diversity in a Pluralist Society Trinity College Dublin, 06/03/2008-.
2008 Tom Hickey (2008) NUI Galway/Irish Jurisprudence Society Symposium on Constitutionalism and Legal Theory Freedom as Non-Domination: Making Space for the Outsider Moore Institute, NUI Galway, 25/10/2008-.

Newspaper

Year Publication
2020 Tom Hickey and Oran Doyle (2020) Oireachtas can pass laws in the public interest without Taoiseach Seanad nominees. NEWSA [Link] https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/oireachtas-can-pass-laws-in-public-interest-without-taoiseach-seanad-nominees-1.4213010
2019 Tom Hickey (2019) Spectre of litigation now hovers over our parliamentarians. NEWSA [Link]
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) Direct Provision ruling signals new “dialogue” between Dail and the Judicary, Irish Times, June 24, 2017. NEWSA [Link]
2017 Tom Hickey (2017) Angela Kerins was on the wrong side of the public good, Irish TImes, February 3, 2017. NEWSA [Link]
2012 Tom Hickey (2012) Why the School Patronage Report is Doomed to Fail, Irish Times, April 24, 2012. NEWSA
2011 Tom Hickey (2011) Opportunity to Reclaim Idea of Republic, Irish Times, October 13, 2011. NEWSA
2011 Tom Hickey (2011) Common Schools Best in Transmitting Civic Values, Irish Times, June 24, 2011. NEWSA
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
DCU President's Award for Innovative Teaching

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Teaching and Learning Committee 01/09/2016 - 21/12/2016
School of Law and Government Research Committee 01/09/2014 - 30/08/2015

Research Interests

Tom works in the areas of constitutional law and theory, with an emphasis on judges, judging and the judicial power. He is currently supervising three PhD candidates, and welcomes candidates interested in constitutional law and theory.