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Tougher penalties for breaches of Covid-19 restrictions have not been brought into force in Northern Ireland due to delays in printing enforcement notices, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The Northern Ireland Executive agreed nearly a month ago to increase the minimum fine to £200 and al

The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) has been asked to investigate whether Tánaiste Leo Varadkar breached codes of conduct by leaking a confidential document. Paul Murphy, socialist TD for Dublin South-West, wrote to SIPO yesterday in the wake of a political scandal concerning con

Three kangaroos have been seized by police during a raid on an illegal cannabis farm in Canada. As part of a major operation across southern Ontario, police recovered nearly €100 million in cannabis, guns, crossbows and "several exotic animals".

The Court of Appeal has reiterated that allegations of professional negligence must be grounded in professional expert evidence. Background

International law firm DAC Beachcroft has announced the appointment of Ronan McLoughlin as a real estate parter in Dublin. The appointment, the first at a partner level this year, brings the firm's partner count in Dublin to 11, following three partner appointments in its 10th anniversary year in 20

Barrister David Scoffield QC and Judge David McFarland have been appointed as judges of the High Court. The pair were sworn in before Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, this morning.

The Bar Council of Ireland has raised concerns with the Courts Service about devils missing out on courtroom experience due to Covid-19 restrictions, according to reports. Despite early assurances, devils are being routinely denied entry to courtrooms due to strict restrictions on the number of peop

Ireland's data protection watchdog is set to bear a "very heavy financial burden" after a judge ruled that it should pay costs in the landmark case brought by privacy campaigner Max Schrems which led to the striking down of the US-EU Privacy Shield agreement. In her ruling on costs on Friday, Ms Jus

The LLB will not be required to qualify as a lawyer from next September after regulators approved a new apprenticeship scheme, The Times reports. The changes, under which people will be able to join law firms as apprentices after leaving school, marks the biggest reform to legal education in a gener

Parents whose children are subject of access orders should "try to agree what access can happen safely", the president of the District Court has said. In a statement issued on Saturday, Judge Colin Daly acknowledged that some parents "may be concerned that they cannot fulfil the terms of these order

Celebrity actor Johnny Depp has lost a high-profile libel case against the publisher of The Sun after the newspaper described him as a "wife beater". The Queen's Bench Division of the High Court handed down judgment this morning in what has been dubbed the "libel trial of the century" by some commen

William Fry associate Patrick Murphy and trainee Laura Flanagan look at a recent scandal in the world of esports. Esports is an umbrella term which describes the world of competitive, organised video gaming. On 29 September 2020 the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) suspended 37 individual Counter

Two former Cork solicitors who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud will not be sentenced until February 2021. Keith Flynn, 46, and Lyndsey Clarke, 37, pleaded guilty in September to charges of conspiring with each other to defraud Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, and other f

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of selling a fake magical "Aladdin's lamp" to a doctor for nearly €81,000. The unwitting buyer, a doctor in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was promised it would bring health, wealth and good fortune, RTÉ reports.

The Court of Appeal has held that the Children Act 2001 prevents the identification of a deceased child in criminal proceedings for an offence against the child. Background