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A referendum to allow Ireland to participate in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) should take place this November alongside the planned referendum on gender equality, the government has been told. The Unified Patent Court Agreement, establishing a common patent court for EU member states, is set to fin

An abortion rights activist in Poland has been sentenced to eight months of community service after being found guilty of facilitating abortion. Justyna Wydrzyńska was convicted by a court in Warsaw of helping a pregnant woman to access abortion pills for an at-home abortion.

Giving someone the middle finger is a "God-given" right which belongs to "every red-blooded Canadian", a judge has ruled. Judge Dennis Galiatsatos said it is "not a crime to give someone the finger" as he dismissed a criminal harassment charge brought against a man in Quebec following complaints fro

Philip Lee has appointed Eimear Collins as a partner in the firm's dispute resolution and litigation group. Ms Collins is a qualified mediator and has a strong practice in property and landlord and tenant disputes. She also regularly advises and represents clients in complex contractual, commercial

A new campaign is seeking to raise awareness of the support, services and redress available for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland. From this week, advertisements will be running in regional and local newspapers and on social media platforms to ensure victims

A review of PSNI strip-searches of children and young people in custody will be carried out after concerns were raised by the Children's Law Centre (CLC). The Northern Ireland Policing Board said its human rights adviser will "review the compliance with human rights in how the PSNI addresses childre

Lawyers must continue to challenge the Northern Ireland courts to properly protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse, a prominent family lawyer has said. Claire Edgar, family law partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, was among the speakers at The Bar of Northern Ireland's recent confer

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has been named Leading Legal/Financial Consultancy of the Year at the 2023 Irish Wind Industry Awards. Sponsored by SSE Renewables, the awards celebrate the very best within the Irish wind industry and the commitment of key stakeholders to cutting carbon emissions and ma

Hilkka Becker, the chairperson of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), has joined the board of directors of the Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL). Four people — Karen Banks, Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC, Professor Brigid Laffan MRIA and Professor Aoife Nolan &mdas

Dr Mary Tumelty has been reappointed to the Health and Social Care Professionals Council within multi-profession health regulator CORU. Dr Tumelty is a law lecturer at University College Cork (UCC), where her research interests include medical law, patient safety and alternative dispute resolution.

Security forces across the world are increasingly misusing rubber and plastic bullets and other law enforcement weapons to violently suppress peaceful protests, causing horrific injuries and deaths, human rights campaigners have said. In a jointly-produced 48-page report titled My Eye Exploded, Amne

A prominent YouTuber who was elected to the Japanese parliament is to be expelled after failing to turn up to a single session since his election eight months ago. Yoshikazu Higashitani, also known as "Mr. GaaSyy", became famous online for his celebrity gossip videos before being elected to the Japa

There are more than 11,000 outstanding claims worth a combined total of €5 billion, according to the latest figures from the State Claims Agency (SCA). At the end of 2022, there were 7,329 claims being managed under the general indemnity scheme (GIS) and 3,875 under the clinical indemnity schem

International law firm Walkers welcomed Derville Rowland, deputy governor for consumer and investor protection at the Central Bank of Ireland, to its International Women's Day event in Dublin on Friday. The lunch event at No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place coincided with the launch of the Central Bank's seven

Arthur Cox partner Deirdre O'Mahony has been appointed as secretary of the International Bar Association's (IBA) anti-corruption committee. The anti-corruption committee provides an international forum for private and public-sector practitioners to meet and discuss anti-corruption laws, compliance p