News

The practice of penal transportation as a form of criminal punishment used by the British began in the early 1600s and “did not formally cease until the penal settlement on the Andaman Islands was wound up in 1945” (Maxwell-Stewart, 2010). During the 330 years of penal transportation, Ir

A fisherman has been fined for lying to police about being attacked – so that officers would give him a lift home. Matthew McAtasney, 19, claimed to have been kicked and punched last year.

Following a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union that the High Court was justified in refraining to give effect to a European arrest warrant issued in Poland due to fears about fair trial rights, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly has held that it is necessary to request further informatio

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has set out his opposition to independent legal representation for complainants in rape trials in an interview with the Irish Examiner. Mr Flanagan has proposed instead that counsellors will assist complainants through the trial process.

Irish judges have claimed €1.088 million in expenses in the first half of 2018, a 15 per cent increase on the same period last year, The Irish Times reports. The increase from €941,922 in the first half of 2017 appears to be driven by the appointment of new judges, who need to purchase rob

Eversheds Sutherland has announced plans to double the size of its Belfast office over the next 18 months. The global firm will bring its headcount to at least 30, up from the current figure of 15 including three partners.

More than 500 asylum seekers have been granted work permits under the new system introduced by the Government at the start of July. According to The Irish Times, 560 asylum seekers have been granted work permits and 326 have been refused on basis of eligibility.

Darryl Broderick, partner and head of litigation and dispute resolution at Ronan Daly Jermyn, welcomes new rules on media access to court files. New Court Rules relating to the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court were introduced on 1 August 2018 which allow the media access to documents on

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he would prefer to remove article 41.2 from the Constitution rather than replace it with new wording, the Irish Examiner reports. In an interview with the newspaper, he said he did not want a repeat of the "abortion debacle".

Limerick Prison has opened a new family sitting room in a bid to make the prison more friendly for children visiting their imprisoned parents, the Limerick Leader reports. The newly-renovated room was revealed this week following collaboration with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHR

People with "stretched" finances who are ineligible for legal aid are the least likely to instruct lawyers when they have legal problems, ministers have been told. Concern about legal advice costs has led to a spike in the number of litigants in person, the Legal Services Board said in a report to t

Senators in Argentina have rejected a proposal to overhaul the South American country's restrictive abortion laws. Abortion is currently only available in Argentina where the pregnancy has arisen from rape or where the mother's life is at risk, but lawmakers have been debating legislation allowing f

The BBC is going to court in a bid to force Microsoft help track down the source of a Doctor Who leak. A 53-second clip of Jodie Whittaker as the series' iconic lead character, The Doctor, was leaked online in June.

A man who taught drama classes at a primary school in the late 1990s has lost an appeal against his conviction for vaginally and anally raping a former pupil. Stating that there was “clear, indeed, stark evidence that the offences had occurred”, Mr Justice George Birmingham, president of

Specialist insurance industry law firm Horwich Farrelly has opened an office in Belfast under the leadership of newly reappointed partner Matthew Fitzpatrick. Mr Fitzpatrick returns to the UK-based firm, where he worked for over 10 years, after having spent time at two prominent Northern Ireland fir