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A new book analysing sentencing in cases of serious sexual offences and exploring the factors that influence the decision-making of judges has been formally launched by justice minister Jim O'Callaghan. Sentencing Serious Sex Offenders: How Judges Decide When Discretion is Wide, published by Policy

Obstructing a school inspection is to become a criminal offence in Northern Ireland under proposals aimed at improving co-operation with the inspection process. The Department of Education has launched a public consultation on the proposals, which will run until 10 July 2025.

An original issue of the Magna Carta, long mistaken for a copy and sold in the 1940s for what one historian described as a “fairly derisory price”, has been identified at Harvard Law School Library. The document was acquired in 1946 from a London bookseller for just $27.50, before its tr

A judge has criticised two neighbours for spending hundreds of thousands of pounds in a legal dispute over "a tap and a pipe that doesn't matter".

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Rights groups sue to free Venezuelans deported from the US and held in El Salvador | ABC News

The Bar of Northern Ireland has unveiled a new display marking the opening for signatures of the new Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer. The large visual design piece at the Bar Library building on Chichester Street has been installed just as both the UK and I

The Scottish Parliament has voted for the first time to consider legalising assisted dying for people with terminal illnesses, following a lengthy debate. MSPs backed the bill by 70 votes to 56 in a free vote, after months of cross-party pre-legislative scrutiny, our sister publication Scottish Lega

A&L Goodbody's Belfast office has announced a new two-year charity partnership with Northern Ireland Hospice. NI Hospice is the only service of its kind in Northern Ireland providing specialist palliative care for both children and adults with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. The ho

Northern Ireland's High Court is to hear a damages claim from two of the "Hooded Men" after rejecting an application from the UK government to have their case dismissed. Liam Shannon and Jim Auld, represented by KRW LAW LLP, argue that there is new evidence pointing to torture which was not availabl

A consent system relied upon by tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Amazon and X to serve targeted online advertising has been ruled to be incompatible with the GDPR. Belgium's Court of Appeal yesterday ruled on an appeal brought by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe against an ear

Mason Hayes & Curran has promoted three lawyers to partner and seven to of counsel. The business law firm's new partners are Andrew Gill in the debt capital markets and financial services team, Conor O'Leary in the dispute resolution and built environment teams, and Micheál McCarthy in th

Prison experts and officials from around the world are convening this week at the Correctional Research Symposium, taking place in Belfast for the first time. The event is organised every two years by the European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services (EuroPris) and the International Corr

The Council of Europe has formally adopted a new Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. The new Convention is the first international legally-binding instrument to address environmental crime, covering a broad range of criminal acts that aggravate the triple planetary

Lawyer John Small has joined insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh as head of private equity, M&A and transactional risk in Ireland. Mr Small is admitted as a solicitor in Ireland and in England and Wales and has strong experience in cross-border legal matters and deal facilitation. He advises

An optician's shop called the "Spex Pistols" has been forced to rebrand following legal action from the punk band that inspired their name. The popular store in Dundee, Scotland has changed its name and logo after more than 15 years, The Courier reports.