Case Reports

The High Court has refused a judicial review application by two accused to prohibit their trial in the Special Criminal Court. The applicants argued that the SCC was a temporary and emergency mechanism but had become a de facto permanent court in the Irish system. As such, it was argued that the con

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal against the surrender of a man to Poland to serve a sentence for minor drugs offences due to delay. The man had a suspended sentence for offences dating back to 1999, which he was ordered to serve in 2006. However, a European Arrest Warrant was not issued unti

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed two applications for judicial review challenging The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021. The court found that the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement had not impacted human rights laws involving abortion on the grounds of severe foetal impairment, a

The High Court has refused an application for judicial review seeking to prohibit the Director of Public Prosecutions from pursuing charges against the applicant on the grounds of delay. The applicant was 15 years old at the time of the alleged offending but was not returned for trial until after hi

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed a judicial review application where the original proceedings were still ongoing, and where the applicant failed to mount a case for early release or mercy. This was an application for leave to apply for judicial review where the applicant was seeking

The High Court has refused an application to dismiss a plaintiff’s personal injuries action on the grounds that it was bound to fail. The defendants argued that the plaintiff could not succeed because she had signed a waiver agreement which waived any right of action against the defendants. Ho

The Court of Appeal has upheld an award of €85,000 for psychiatric damage caused to a woman who witnessed the aftermath of a fatal car accident. The woman was the first person on the scene and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing the deceased driver. The defendant’s insure

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected a conviction for hate speech where the trial judge failed to examine the context of the speech and failed to justify the interference with the appellant’s freedom of expression. This appeal questioned whether the leaflets involved could be

The High Court has refused to admit the copy of a deceased’s will to probate despite the fact that most of the next of kin consented and none actively opposed the application. The court held that there was simply no evidence to show that the original will was still in existence or that it was

The Supreme Court has ruled that Clare County Council was not entitled to a mandatory interlocutory injunction removing Irish travellers from Council lands. It was held that both the Court of Appeal had failed to adequately consider the constitutional rights of the defendants in granting the applica

The High Court of Northern Ireland has dismissed an application alleging cross-cutting from ministers who challenged a decision of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in relation to bonfires in Belfast. The ongoing bonfire dispute, which was previously covered by Irish Legal News here, was

The High Court has ruled that FBD Insurance plc must pay publicans for losses arising from the early closures of premises which occurred from 10 August 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a 201-page judgment, Mr Justice Denis McDonald held that the early closing requirement was a government-impose

The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal against a decision by the High Court to refuse an Article 40.4 application arising from the conviction of the appellant. It was stated that the application was “totally misconceived” and that the issues should have been raised in an appeal. The

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the severity of a three-year sentence for the cultivation of €39,000 worth of cannabis plants. The final year of the sentence had also been suspended by the sentencing judge. The appellant argued that the sentence was excessive having regard t

The Supreme Court has held that the decision of the Minister for Education to exclude certain home-schooled students from the calculated grades scheme in the 2020 Leaving Certificate was invalid. It was held that the Minister’s decision was an unlawful interference with the constitutional righ