News

Just eight people were convicted of rape in Northern Ireland in the 2020/21 financial year amid a significant decrease in court business during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) received a total of 1,568 files involving a sexual offence in 2020/21, a decrease of 6.9 per cen

Two students at University College Cork (UCC) School of Law have each received a scholarship worth €5,000 and a work placement opportunity with Ronan Daly Jermyn (RDJ). Imamma Eunice Ikebuasi and Laya Little are the first recipients of RDJ's diversity scholarship, which supports students from b

Leman Solicitors LLP has announced the promotion of Elaine White to partner in the firm. Ms White while lead the litigation department alongside fellow partners Larry Fenelon and Ronan McGoldrick.

Nuala Jackson SC has been appointed as chairperson of the Legal Aid Board for a five-year term. Ms Jackson was an ordinary member of the outgoing Board. Six members of the outgoing Board have been reappointed while six new appointments have been made.

A train driver is suing his employer after it docked 28p from his wages because his train was late by a single minute. West Japan Railway Company said a strict “no work, no pay” principle applies to the incident from June last year.

ByrneWallace LLP has announced the reappointment of Feargal Brennan as managing partner for a second three-year term. Mr Brennan joined the firm in 2000 and became head of its corporate practice in 2011. He was elected as managing partner in June 2018.

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by a personal injuries plaintiff who argued that he did not need a Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) authorisation in order to institute the proceedings. The plaintiff alleged that he was injured from a defective hip replacement and the High

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has upheld an EU Commission decision to fine Google €2.4 billion for breaches of competition law. It was held that Google had abused a dominant position in the European market by favouring its own comparison shopping service over competing compa

The General Court of the European Union has upheld a €2.42 billion fine imposed on Google by the European Commission in 2017. The Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position on the market for online general search services in 13 countries in the EEA by favouring its own compar

Alison Cassidy, partner at DAC Beachcroft in Belfast, comments on Northern Ireland's low personal injury discount rate. It has been over five months since the Department of Justice made a shock announcement to change the personal injury discount rate (PIDR) from +2.5 per cent to -1.75 per cent, leav

Judges have been reminded that the press must be allowed to freely access public court hearings after reporters were refused entry on a number of occasions this year. Reporters from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) attended possession courts on 110 occasions over the summer. They reveal

Ireland's treatment of prisoners will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council working group as part of Ireland's third universal period review (UPR) later today. States will put questions to Ireland this afternoon on its performance across a number of human rights treaties. The Irish delegation w

Global law firm DLA Piper has announced the appointment of Gavin Smith as a partner in the firm's finance, projects and restructuring (FP&R) group and head of the firm's restructuring team in Ireland. Mr Smith brings with him over 20 years' experience advising on restructuring, insolvency and co

The Supreme Court has begun to issue summaries of landmark judgments in a new initiative to increase access to justice. Two judgments published this week have been accompanied by one-page summaries under a pilot which will continue for the entire term.

New legislation will require local authorities to ensure home ownership as a tenure type is provided for and estimated in their housing strategies. A legislative amendment approved by ministers will give further legislative effect to ministerial planning guidelines issued in May under section 28 of