Conor Courtney

Judges have a role in effecting social change in Ireland but have to push their own views "to the back of our minds" when making decisions, High Court president Mr Justice David Barniville has said. The judge was joined by Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan, Ms Justice Iseult

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that the decision not to expel a student who intentionally attacked a fellow classmate was rational. The judge found that it was “not for the courts to micro-manage discipline within schools”. The applicant, a girl commencing her Year 11 educ

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed 10 grounds of appeal following the manslaughter of a three-year-old boy. The court rejected arguments that photos of the crime scene prejudiced the applicant, and noted that the applicant’s past convictions for domestic violence were relev

Northern Ireland's Coroner’s Court has found that a rubber baton round which killed Stephen Geddis, “an innocent child”, in 1975 was neither necessary nor justified in the circumstances. The danger posed by the use of this weapon near children had not been made apparent to the sold

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused judicial review to an applicant who was charged under terrorism legislation in 2020. The court found that the applicant’s attempts to rely on the royal prerogative of mercy to reduce his time in prison was based on a flawed interpretation of the

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application for judicial review where a police constable argued that any misconduct that he committed in previous employment should not have come under the scrutiny of the PSNI or its code of ethics. The court found that the code applied to any serv

Northern Ireland’s High Court has, for the second time, declared that the Northern Ireland Executive is failing in its duty to enhance and protect the development of the Irish language. There has been inaction on this point since the provisions were introduced in 2007. In this judicial review

Northern Ireland's High Court has rejected the most recent claim in a long-running dispute, relating to custody of a 10-year-old boy. The court found that the father had an "inability to prioritise his son’s welfare over his own obsession", and his claims that video call contact was “ter

Northern Ireland’s High Court has approved the variation of a last will where it found that the new provisions were of benefit to the deceased's children. The court noted that it would be beneficial for the children to receive a lump sum at the age of 25, especially where the trust would make

A Northern Ireland Crown Court, sitting at Laganside Courthouse, determined that a murderer must wait 20 years before being eligible for parole. This was based on the defendant’s lies regarding how his girlfriend had died, and the general lack of remorse shown by the defendant.

Northern Ireland’s Coroner’s Court found that an army soldier caused the death of a Derry resident in 1971, by shooting into her garden without justification. Soldier D discharged two shots into the rear garden of Kathleen Thompson’s home, in violation of guidance on the matter, as

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected three appeals against orders relating to repossession of a property in Dorchester Park, Belfast. Ultimately, the court found that the appeal came across “as a desperate shot in the dark and was bound to fail on the basis of the evidence and

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected a claim that an 18-year delay in prosecuting a case was unconscionable or prejudicial. The court noted that the delay had been caused by the appellant’s own actions in choosing to flee the jurisdiction following an explosion.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has set aside a child return order, which the judge previously granted, after new evidence of the father’s behaviour was brought to light. The court found that the father, living in France, had been involved in continuing and escalating threatening behaviour

Northern Ireland’s High Court has allowed the extradition of an applicant from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland after he breached his parole license terms. The court rejected his claim that Northern Ireland should not have jurisdiction over crimes committed in Ireland, and found tha