Case Reports

The Supreme Court has clarified the law in relation to sexual assaults against males, noting that the impact of the case of S(M) v. Ireland & Ors (No.2) 4 I.R. 369 was not to limit sentences to two years, but to ensure that principles of equality were applied to sentencing for assaults against

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought against a decision of the Financial Service Ombudsman, who had dismissed a couple’s complaint that their serious illness insurance had been revoked without their knowledge. The central question of the case was: Where the Financial Services Ombuds

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal brought by a company found guilty of supplying alcohol to an underage person, in which they argued that amendments to the law which limited the defences available were unconstitutional. The specific issue in the appeal concerned the plain meaning of section

The High Court has significantly extended the bankruptcy period of a well-known property developer due to the bankrupt’s lack of cooperation with his official Assignee. Mr Thomas McFeely was declared bankrupt in Ireland and the UK in 2012.

High Court judge Mr Justice Richard Humphreys has dismissed an application for leave to seek judicial review by a man who sought to challenge the rules of the Prisoners (Temporary Release) Rules 2004 (S.I. No. 680 of 2004). Prior to the matters complained of the application seek judicial review, th

Two siblings have had their action for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment dismissed by the Supreme Court, who found that the facts did not support their allegations. The siblings, Stephen Murphy junior and Ann Murphy, had brought an action claiming malicious prosecution following years of

The Northern Ireland High Court has found that an insurance services company was entitled to refuse to indemnify an MLA under an insurance policy, in respect of his liability to pay compensation for a defamatory statement published on his Twitter account on 1 May 2014. It was agreed that the defamat

A name containing several tokens of nobility and freely chosen by a German in another member state of which he also holds the nationality does not necessarily have to be recognised in Germany, the European Court of Justice has ruled. Mr Nabiel Peter Bogendorff von Wolffersdorff, who was born in Germ

The High Court has denied a company's request to cross-examine the deponents of affidavits in a defamation case. The case concerned an ongoing dispute between Ryanair and Evert Van Zwol, John Goss, Ted Murphy, Carl Kuwitzky and Samuel Giezendanner, concerning a statement published by the defendants

The High Court has refused five individuals’ request to revoke an agreement they made with the State to discontinue proceedings against it with regards to historical sex-abuse suffered in schools. Mr Justice Max Barrett, began by noting that the plaintiffs encountered three difficulties:

A ban on wearing headscarves in companies may be admissible if it is based on a general company rule which prohibits political, philosophical and religious symbols from being worn visibly in the workplace to ensure religious and ideological neutrality, in the opinion of an advocate general of the Co

The High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland Chancery Division has granted the Attorney General leave to appeal a decision of the Charity Tribunal on a number of points of law. The Attorney General sought to appeal a decision of the Tribunal to remove Robert Crawford as a trustee of the charity, Th

A Russian journalist and an editor convicted of “insult” for publishing a news story complaining about an allegedly corrupt mayor had their article 10 right to freedom of expression violated, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. The case concerned the criminal conviction, for insult, of

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a company who sought to challenge a contract for the supply of school transport as breaching EU Law, finding that the contract did not fall within the meaning of the appropriate Directive. The applicant, School Transport Scheme Ltd. sought to challenge

The Crown Court for Northern Ireland has fined a company and two of its directors £40,000 and £1,000 each respectively for the unlawful deposit of waste. The offences related to land owned by Thomas and Gary Bates, directors of Ace Bates Skip Hire Limited, on which they had received permission to