Conor Courtney

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed all grounds of appeal against a 24-year murder sentence. The court found that this sentence was neither excessive nor unlawful and a three-year reduction following a late-stage guilty plea was sufficient, if not “generous”.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review where a public procurement for construction with the Education Authority was limited to teams with architects, excluding other qualified construction specialists. The court found that this criterion narrowed the poo

“Imagine for a second yourselves, imagine the hard work we've all put into our studies and going to university and working so hard and, through that, making a life within a legal community. For these women, they succeed. They are the success stories in Afghanistan. Then imagine having it all r

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review where an applicant who had exhausted his asylum appeals was denied a government-issued card which included identifying details. The applicant, a 29-year-old man originally from Somalia, had been seeking asylum in th

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected applications for judicial review into the length of patient wait lists in the jurisdiction. The court found that although this issue was of public concern, the nature of the situation required political leadership, not court involvement.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that it is in the best interests of a child to be relocated to Poland, where he has family ties and where his mother’s new husband is based. The court noted the emotional impact that refusing the application could have on the mother and, in tu

Northern Ireland’s High Court has struck out an action as being doomed to fail and frivolous where the lay litigant plaintiff was seeking a combined £300 million for alleged failures by his legal representatives and the police to enforce a court order. The court also rejected his claim t

Northern Ireland's High Court has determined that a personal injury settlement which a man received two years before his bankruptcy did not form part of the bankruptcy estate. The court found that the sum satisfied a statutory exception, and should be excluded because it represented provisions neces

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld a 19-year prison sentence for offences committed by a father against his 12-day-old son. The court accepted that this was a stiff sentence, but found it reasonable given the nature of the acts in question, and given the appellant’s lack of re

The UK Supreme Court has cleared the way for the enactment of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Northern Ireland) Bill after ruling it does not infringe on the right to freedom of assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court found that placing limitations on wher

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a failure by police to properly investigate a suspected 1976 murder is potentially a breach of their common law and statutory duty. The court granted judicial review, finding that this question was an important point of public law.

Northern Ireland’s Crown Court has ruled that a former British soldier was responsible for the manslaughter of Aiden McAnespie in 1988. The court found that the soldier acted with gross negligence by handling a cocked machine gun where he was under no pressure and in no danger. The defendant,

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a farmer whose removal of trees may have resulted in increased water seeping into his neighbour’s land is not liable for the damage caused. The court found the change in use of the land was “entirely reasonable”, and an occupier is

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an appeal against a contact order where the applicant was refusing to accept her son’s guilt in relation to the death of a child in his care. The court found that the applicant was prioritising her relationship with her son over her relationship

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application for judicial review where it found that the applicant’s probation release had been delayed by factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and his own failed drug tests. In considering this application, the court found that one of the rel