Conor Courtney

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) may have breached its duty towards an asylum seeker in failing to provide her with a timely and accessible weekly allowance payment for a period of almost two months. The applicant was an as

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an application challenging a 2021 decision of the justice minister to refuse to make a payment to an applicant out of an ex gratia compensation scheme. The court found that the refusal was rational and reasonable.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a 12-year sentence in relation to cultivating cannabis was not excessive, given the scope and value of the operation, and the control exercised by the accused. However, the court did reduce a separate sentence which had been applied concur

Northern Ireland’s High Court has allowed a judicial review application brought by a serving police constable seeking to prevent a disciplinary hearing into allegations of gross misconduct. The court found that judicial review here was appropriate, despite the fact that there were alternative

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) did not have grounds to reject medical evidence involving injuries at work for two former constables. The court found that the medical evidence determination, not the Board’s, was final.

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review which challenged cross-border license travel requirements. The court found that the restrictions were proportionate, especially given the ease of cross-border travel on the island of Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld a decision permitting evidence of sexual assault in the context of a family court application where the same evidence was rejected as hearsay in a criminal trial. The facts of this case are explicit and reader discretion is advised.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has reduced an award made by an Industrial Tribunal in a sexual harassment claim by nearly £20,000. The court found that the award was excessive given the short nature of the employment, the lack of evidence relied on by the tribunal, and examples of &l

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