News

Poland has reinstated the 27 Supreme Court judges who were forced to retire under controversial judicial reforms opposed by the European Commission. Legislation reversing the change in the judicial retirement age was signed into law by President Andrzej Duda yesterday after the European Court of Jus

The House of Lords is set to overhaul its disciplinary processes next year to better support complainants in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, The Times reports. The 82-year-old peer and former barrister resigned from the Lords last week ahead of a vote

In November 1908, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington and Margaret Cousins, along with their husbands Francis and James, founded the Irish Women’s Franchise League (IWFL). The primary aim of the IWFL was for women to be afforded the right to vote on the same terms as men, and a particular aim was to guar

Furious parents branded a Christmas grotto Santa Claus a "disgrace" after he ripped off his beard and swore at children. According to reports, the angry St Nick lost his temper after the fire alarm was triggered by a children's rave in the same building.

Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who were acquitted on counts of rape earlier this year, have had their applications for costs of their defence dismissed in Belfast Crown Court. Emphasising that the myriad of conclusions were for the jury to reach rather than the prosecution, Her Honou

The Law Society of Ireland and The Bar of Ireland persuaded the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) not to pursue the option of legislation capping personal injuries pay-outs, The Times reports. According to documents released to the newspaper under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, PIC chair

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has called on the incoming director-general of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to maintain "the momentum for prison reform". Caron McCaffrey was last week appointed the next IPS director-general, making her the first woman to lead the prison service.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he would support removing reference to the time period before a court can grant a divorce from the Constitution altogether, The Times reports. A referendum is expected to take place next year to reform article 41.3.2 of the Constitution, which has remained

Maples and Calder has retained its position as the number one legal adviser to Irish-serviced funds for the sixth consecutive year, according to the Monterey Insight Report 2018. Monterey Insight is a leading independent fund industry research company that provides the only comprehensive statistical

PIAB recently launched a solicitor portal. It is a secure, web-based platform where authorised users can access information to their clients’ claims and correspond with PIAB. The PIAB solicitor portal is available on the PIAB website www.piab.ie.

The UK government has announced a new package of workplace reforms it calls the "largest upgrade in workers' rights in over a generation". The announcement takes forward 51 of the 53 recommendations made last summer by the Taylor Review, led by Matthew Taylor, CEO of the Royal Society of Arts and fo

Co Down solicitor Elaine Mary Early has been spared jail after admitting a series of fraud and money-laundering offences linked to client accounts, the Belfast Telegraph reports. Ms Early, formerly of Elaine Early and Co Solicitors in Comber, transferred thousands of pounds from client accounts to h

The High Court will consider whether to freeze the accounts of suspended Ballaghderreen solicitor Declan O'Callaghan and his former practice, Kilrane O'Callaghan & Co. Solicitors, on Friday, The Irish Times reports. The Law Society of Ireland announced last week that it would seek orders freezin

Judge Harry McKibbin has retired after more than two decades on the Magistrates' Court bench. The Law Society of Northern Ireland wished the judge, who was appointed in March 1995, "all the best in his retirement on behalf of all the solicitors' profession".

A sex worker advocacy organisation has marked International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers today by calling on the Government to decriminalise the sale and purchase of sex in Ireland. Kate McGrew, director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), said the Criminal Law (Sexual Offen