Opinion

"Usura rusteth the chisel/It rusteth the craft and the craftsman", wrote Ezra Pound. Benjamin Bestgen explains the practice of usury. See last week's primer here. In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice we encounter two people lending money: the Christian merchant Antonio and the Jewish moneyl

Senator Ivana Bacik, a qualified barrister and legal academic, makes the case for the government to support the Labour Party's Citizenship Bill. Throughout the past year, despite the horrific consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic for so many individuals, families and societies, both in this country

Gearóid Corrigan, senior associate at Kennedys, gives an Irish market update on solicitors' professional indemnity insurance. After years of relative calm and stability in the professional indemnity market and ahead of the traditional 1 December renewal, we look at whether recent developments

William Fry partners Derek Hegarty and Laura Murdock give practical advice on common issues relating to legal advice privilege and jurisdiction. Legal professional privilege recognises a client's right to be honest with their legal adviser, without fear of disclosure of sensitive information to othe

Benjamin Bestgen asks us this week to consider just prices. See last week's jurisprudential primer here. Caricatures of fatcat lawyers and greedy shysters lining their pockets through frivolous claims and overcharging clients have linked the legal profession unflatteringly with money for centur

Barrister and lecturer Ruth Cannon recommends a new book on the funding of the Irish war of independence. There is a saying that money isn't everything, but everything requires money. The new counter-state set up by Sinn Féin in 1919 certainly did, if only to pay judicial salaries in its alte

Andrew McKeown BL, law lecturer and practising barrister at The Bar of Ireland, considers the procedure for the removal of a judge under the Irish Constitution. As the controversy surrounding Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe continues, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, the Ceann Comhairle, ha

Sorry seems to be the hardest word, which is why the law has gotten involved in recent years. Benjamin Bestgen reflects on an early injustice and the value of apologies. See last week's jurisprudential primer here. I recall an episode in primary school in which another kid teased and pestered me and

Daniel Wincott, Blackwell professor of law and society at the University of Cardiff, explores the impact of Brexit on devolution across the UK. Brexit has exposed the underdeveloped and fragile aspects of devolution in the UK. Devolved governments’ relationships with London are strained. The a

Andrew Desmond, associate at William Fry, examines a recent investigation by the Data Protection Commission (DPC). The Data Protection Commission has found a security system used in Irish prisons to be in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after investigating a complaint by a pr

Christopher Stanley, litigation consultant at Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP, reviews a new textbook on public law. As an English lawyer practising in Ireland – north and south – on a range of issues including the legacy of the conflict and the mother and baby homes scandal, to ask to review

Eamon Gilmore marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights. This week marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights. One of the many initiatives to spring up in the immediate aftermath of World War II with the aim of real

What's in a legal system? Benjamin Bestgen supplies the principal ingredients. See his last primer here. Last week’s article ended with lawyer and author Christopher Brown’s suggestion that fantasy authors could do more to make law and legal systems an explicit focus point in their works

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DoJ”) civil lawsuit against Google, filed at the US District Court for the District of Columbia (the “District Court”) on 20 October 2020, is a first step in what will doubtless be lengthy, highly contentious litigation. Google Chief Legal Off

The Residential Tenancies Act 2020 (the “RTA 20”) temporarily prevents the eviction of residential tenants (in all but exceptional cases) from taking place during Level 5 restrictions. The RTA 20, which was signed into law Saturday 24 October, is the latest in a number of temporary measu