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A small town in Quebec has become the first municipality in Canada to formally recognise trees as living beings with rights of their own. The council of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, west of Montreal, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring that trees are entitled to protection, including rights to life, n

An AI-powered law firm has secured its first courtroom victory, in what is believed to be a world first for a regulated legal practice operating through artificial intelligence. Garfield AI, which became the first AI law firm authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in May 2025, successfull

A court has held that Scotland's prison service guidance permitting trans women to be accommodated in the female prison estate is unlawful because it conflicts with a statutory requirement for separate accommodation for male and female prisoners. Allowing a petition for judicial review brought by ca

The IIEA will host a fireside chat on Thursday in Dublin with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Alice Edwards, and Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, entitled The Resurgence of Torture: New Realities in International Relations.  The conversation will draw on Dr Edwards’ expertise as

Enforce, the tech accountability unit of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), has appointed Louise Hooper as AI expert. Ms Hooper was a barrister at London’s Garden Court Chambers for over two decades.

The business community turned out in force for the launch of new corporate and commercial law firm Daly McCormick, filling the Tyrone Suite at the Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown, for the firm’s inaugural Built for Business Breakfast.

The Central Bank of Ireland has launched a public consultation seeking views on its approach to regulatory impact assessment (RIA) and on its approach to consultation with stakeholders. The consultation forms part of the Central Bank’s ongoing work to deliver a more effective and efficient reg

A number of rape convictions are being reviewed after a police detective was suspended over allegations that he used AI to generate evidence and case documents in a way designed to secure desired outcomes. The officer, from Derbyshire Police, has been removed from frontline duties and is the subject

A US police department has retired a security robot less than a year after deploying it in a public parking garage after it failed to make any arrests or issue a single citation. Police in Dublin, Ohio, introduced the Knightscope K5 robot, known as “DubBot”, to patrol the Rock Cress Park

Mullany Walsh Maxwells LLP has announced three new appointments. Deirdre Cahill has joined the firm as a legal director in the corporate and commercial team. She brings significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments and corporate restructuring, and is widely recognise

Organisations supporting refugees and people seeking protection have strongly criticised new family reunification rules, describing them as cruel, inhumane and breaking apart families. In addition to being forced to wait two years before they can apply for family reunification, the new rules publish

The families of those killed in the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 have secured a court hearing in their bid for judicial review. The hearing, now scheduled for July 14 at the High Court in London, will consider whether the families' application should proceed.

Peter Stapleton and Stephen O’Donnell As part of a series of events to mark 20 years in Ireland, the Maples Group hosted around 700 guests at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin for an evening of celebration.

Significant year-on-year increases in referrals to restorative justice within the criminal justice process have been reported. The results stem from research conducted by Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology, in collaboration with the Probation Service and community-based restorative ju

Patrick Sharkey, former teacher in St Joseph’s Coleraine, was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison after admitting to around 130 charges of historical childhood sexual abuse involving 19 young boys over a period of approximately 25 years. Sharkey used his position as a teacher, kayak ins