'The truth is that parenting is hugely about duties whether or not one is working outside the home – part-time or full-time – and no matter how fulfilment of those duties is, should, or can be shared between parents.' Photograph: Tom Honan
Instead of teaching us classic, conventional and theoretical jurisprudence, he often chose singular and quite diverse topics such as the death penalty – then still on the statute book and provided for in the Constitution – as his lecture themes. All of this is valid – but only up to a point. Because the more rights are promulgated and identified in social and political discourse, the more that corresponding duties are implied.John Kelly, meaningless unless the judiciary is empowered to cast justiciable duties on individuals or groups, or on the community at large – namely the State.. Was the term “duties” in some way outmoded and unacceptable as it appeared in article 41.
We inserted a new article into the Constitution in 2012 concerning children obliging the State to recognise, protect and vindicate “the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children”. That article also dealt with cases where parents “fail in their duty towards their children”, providing for intervention to safeguard the welfare and safety of such children.