News

A woman who pleaded guilty to leaving her four-year-old son with life-threatening injuries should not have taken a High Court action to change her plea before she was sentenced, the Court of Appeal has held.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has reiterated his support for stricter sentencing of repeat sexual offenders following a 10 per cent increase in recorded sexual offences over the past year. The latest crime figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which are still being published "under r

Michael Jackson, managing partner of Matheson, addressed over 350 guests from US multinationals at the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland's annual business lunch in Cork. Matheson, which last week opened its first Irish regional office in Cork, sponsored the lunch, which was attended by leading Co

An opposition bill to prevent a husband or wife who kills their partner to benefit financially from the sale of the family home may win backing from the Government today. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan will raise the Civil Liability (Prevention of Benefits from Homicide) Bill at a meeting of the

A man who avoided imprisonment for growing cannabis while studying law at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has cast doubt on An Garda Síochána's approach to drug valuations. Cian Ó Concubhair, now a stipendiary lecturer in law at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, told T

The right to a civil partnership will be extended to different-sex couples in England and Wales, Prime Minister Theresa May has announced. In June, the Supreme Court said the existing law on civil partnerships was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

A new start-up has announced plans to launch a cannabis-based treatment for anxious and depressed pets. Weedentity will take advantage of recently relaxed Italian laws to sell a new cannabis oil product aimed at cats and dogs.

AIB have been granted an Isaac Wunder Order, restraining a man from acting as a “McKenzie Friend”. Providing the relief sought by AIB, Mr Justice Robert Haughton granted, inter alia, a permanent injunction restraining the man ‘from advising, participating in, assisting or

It is crucial that alternative arrangements are made with Britain for the extradition of criminals ahead of Brexit, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said. Claire Loftus said that the problem was particularly acute given the shared border with the North and the pursuit of prosecutions against

Proposals for disciplinary hearings against judges to be kept secret have been described as “probably untenable” by the Chief Justice. The Government's Judicial Council Bill would see inquiries take place for the first time to look at complaints against judges which fail to satisfy the l

Some criminal cases are taking more than two years to be dealt with by courts in Northern Ireland, according to new figures. The average time to process a criminal case in 2017/18 was 162 days while there is an 802-day wait to take summons cases through the Crown Court, up 3.4 per cent on last year,

Disabled people are to be invited to work on a committee to monitor Ireland's implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will issue invitations to serve on the committee.

A cap on lawyers' fees should be considered, the Chief Justice has said. In an interview with the Irish Independent, Chief Justice Frank Clarke said that the cost of going to court was a barrier to justice and that some people were caught in a "poverty trap" in that they were unable to fund litigati

A tip-line is being launched by the Garda Anti-Corruption Unit to deal with bribery and corruption allegations after fewer complaints than expected were received following its creation last year, The Irish Times reports. Members of the public can leave messages on the line which will then be evaluat

Andy Wightman and others asked the Court of Session to make a judgment that Article 50 can be revoked unilaterally and unconditionally by the UK Parliament. The Court of Session has now agreed to refer this question to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the only court that can decide this matter a