Case Reports

The Supreme Court has dismissed a "rare and exceptional" application from the Minister of Agriculture to review a judgment relating to negligent misstatement by government officials. The Minister submitted that, in upholding the High Court’s finding of liability for economic loss and an award

A hospital has lost an appeal against the finding that the two-year limitation period for issuing personal injury proceedings began when the plaintiff received a doctor’s medical report based on hospital records – not when he was informed in the weeks after his surgery that he had contra

The Sunday World has lost an appeal against the finding that two articles it published about a former GAA footballer were seriously defamatory and warranted an award of €310,000 in damages. Dismissing the Sunday World’s appeal, Mr Justice Michael Peart allowed the man’s cross-appeal

A man who accepted a job as a minibus driver for a charity had his job offer withdrawn a month later on the basis of his age, despite having submitted at least five documents displaying his date of birth in the application process. The Workplace Relations Commission found his complaint of age discri

A man whose horse was seized by Galway County Council and destroyed as a result of unpaid fees incurred as a result of the same seizure has been granted an order setting aside the decision to dispose of the horse by way of destruction. Stating that the destruction was disproportionate, Mr Justice Ga

The Court of Appeal in Belfast has found that a five-month sentence imposed on a man convicted of sexually assaulting his two-year-old son was unduly lenient. The man served just two-and-a-half months of his sentence, and was not subject to a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

The functions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland cannot lawfully be discharged by the staff of the Commission acting alone, the High Court in Belfast has ruled. Rejecting the Commission’s contention that there was express provision to delegate its functions as it found necessary, M

A man who was given a five-year custodial sentence for possession of a firearm has been granted a declaration that s.27A(8) of the Firearms Act 1964, which imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, is repugnant to the Constitution. Concluding that the section should be struck down as uncon

A woman who objected to the Union Flag being flown at Omagh Courthouse on prescribed days has lost her appeal against the decision that the legislation did not breach the guarantee of parity of esteem under the Good Friday Agreement. Concluding that the legislation was not discriminatory, Mr Justice

A man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl who attended his religious education class has had his sentence increased after the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence on grounds of undue leniency. Increasing the 14-month sentence to one of four-and-a-half years,

A man who was convicted of rape and indecent assault in 1996 has lost a challenge to the mechanism for reviewing notification requirements. Rejecting the application, Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan was satisfied that the review mechanism was compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, and t

A farmer who has had a receiver appointed over his payments from the EU under the Farm Single Payment Scheme since 2011 and its successor, the Basic Payment Scheme, since 2015 has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court. Finding that the farmer had not shown evidence of how the appointment of the recei

A man who brought proceedings against the State for negligence arising out of erroneous statements made in Sligo District Court by a member of An Garda Síochána can proceed with his claim. Finding that it was not clear that the State’s defence would prevail on the grounds of immu

The Court of Appeal has found that a High Court judge who struck out proceedings on the ground that they had been improperly constituted pursuant to the Rules of the Superior Courts was wrong in law to do so. Stating that it was clear from Order 84, rule 22(2A) that the presiding judge must not be n

The licence holder for a hotel in Toomebridge was entitled to apply for an occasional licence for a function room which had been de-licensed for under-age events, the Court of Appeal has ruled. In a case stated to the court, Lord Justice Seamus Treacy concluded that the Recorder of Londonderry was i