Case Reports

The Court of Appeal has quashed a conviction for sexual assault against a seven-year-old boy on the basis that the trial judge erred in failing to direct an acquittal. The complaint in the case was that the accused touched the boy’s penis and rubbed their bodies together. However, the court he

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a decision to quash a 2008 conviction for indecent assault in light of a legislative error and subsequently re-prosecute the case was unlawful. Mr Justice O'Hara ruled that the original conviction should not have been quashed in 2020 after it e

Northern Ireland’s High Court has quashed a decision by Belfast City Council to subject a consignment of Halloween costumes to a detention. The court found that the products could not be classified as children’s toys and the respondent therefore acted ultra vires.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has increased a child murderer's sentence from 13 to 16 years, despite fears of double jeopardy and failures by the prosecution, as the interests of justice demanded it. This was a reference brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the owner of a trout hatchery who claimed that the Department of Agriculture failed in its statutory duty to conserve waterways. The court found that the respondent took extensive steps to comply with its

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rescinded two orders rejecting the right to trial by jury in defamation cases between Sir Van Morrison and former health minister Robin Swann. The court found that the trial judge erred in considering the facts and issues in the two cases together to deny

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a prisoner’s request to attend external counselling services during the last 12 months of his sentence was not irrationally or discriminatorily denied, even if the scheme in place wasn’t “the best way to provide for resettleme

A judge in the High Court of England and Wales has found that the director of a software company had infringed the copyright of his former employer after he founded his own company to carry on a similar business. It was alleged by PQ Systems Europe Ltd (PQE) and Productivity-Quality Systems Inc, an

Northern Ireland’s High Court has denied two interlocutory applications sought by environmental campaigners challenging the development of a gas storage facility at Islandmagee. The first application was for a strike-out of various parts of the respondent’s evidence, and the second was f

The Supreme Court has held that the recognition of foreign adoption orders of children born by commercial surrogacy arrangements was not contrary to public policy. This ruling was made despite the general prohibition on commercial adoptions in Ireland.

The High Court has refused an application brought by a plaintiff seeking that the band U2 respond to certain interrogatories regarding the writing for the song A Man And A Woman. The plaintiff claimed that he had written the song and performed it for Cindy Crawford in 1998 and sought €8 million

The District Court has granted a music licence to a publican on condition that the noise emissions from the venue would be limited to 85 decibels. A neighbour had objected to the grant of the licence to the Lamplighter pub on the basis that excessive sound levels were being produced by live music be

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

A Luxembourg-based pharmaceutical company has succeeded in an action in the High Court of England and Wales in which it alleged that a drug manufacturing division of an NHS trust was in breach of a drug development agreement (DA) relating to a treatment for lung disease. SciPharm S.a.r.l claimed tha

The High Court has held that the parents of a child who was awaiting a decision on his international protection status did not have the right to work in the State while the application was being processed. It was said that the child had the right to access the labour market and that this could be ef