News

The long-awaited UK Supreme Court judgment in Villiers v Villiers [2020] UKSC 30 has been handed down this morning. Scottish lawyer Rachael Kelsey has acted for the successful respondent, Mrs Villiers, since 2014 and gives a short summary of the 74-page decision. What was it about?

Solicitors have been invited to apply for membership of the Law Society of Northern Ireland's new human rights and equality group. Belfast solicitor Maria McCloskey was named last month as the chair of the new group, set up in response to international protests against racism and police violence.

Benjamin Bestgen gives us the truth about methods of lie detection. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Last month, I sketched out some definition problems we encounter when considering what a lie is. I also noted that humans are bad lie detectors. Research tells us that even supposed experts

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that a private hospital group and seven consultant ophthalmologists broke competition law by taking part in illegal price-fixing. Following an investigation by the CMA, Spire Healthcare Limited and Spire Healthcare Group plc has admitted tha

Spaniards who work from home will be given the right to suggest their working hours and to claim teleworking expenses from their employer, under a new bill. The country's Ministry of Labour has introduced the draft legislation for employees who work from home, El País reports.

The Rolling Stones have threatened legal action against Donald Trump after he used their songs at his campaign rallies. The band said it is working with music rights organisation BMI to stop Trump's use of their songs as part of his re-election campaign.

The High Court has ruled that the Seanad can only meet after all 60 members have been elected or nominated. The Seanad is comprised of 49 elected members and eleven members have been nominated by a new Taoiseach. The new president of the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine, sat with Ms Justice Niamh

The first tranche of legacy inquests due to be heard as part of a five-year plan may begin to be heard in October in unprecedented "hybrid" hearings following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The presiding coroner for Northern Ireland, Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan, who will soon be succeeded in

Officials have begun a scoping exercise ahead of a review of legislation underpinning the prosecution of terrorism and organised crime offences in the non-jury Special Criminal Court. Justice Minister Helen McEntee yesterday told Senators that she is "fully committed to this review", which was one o

Proposals to double the amount of money that may be released to the beneficiary of a deceased person without probate from £10,000 to £20,000 have gone out to consultation. The Department of Finance said it believes that raising the sum would result in a quicker and more efficient process

UK law firm TLT, which employs around 100 people in Belfast, has agreed an alliance with Dutch firm Holla. TLT and Holla have a long history working together to support clients on a range of matters including complex disputes, employment, IP and corporate finance/M&A.

Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin QC has stepped down with effect from today after 10 years in the post. Solicitor Brenda King will now serve as the chief legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive in an interim capacity.

Alan Desmond, law lecturer at the University of Leicester, considers whether African-Americans could come to Ireland as refugees. Recent months have seen a growing international focus on use of excessive force against African-Americans by police in the US. The killing of George Floyd, in particular,

DWF associate Alison Martin and trainee solicitor Thomas Bulfin examine a recent case involving an employer with a mandatory retirement age. In the recent Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) case of Joseph McGrath v Focus Ireland ADJ-00018823, the adjudication officer considered the issue of object

A watchdog has raised concerns about how the criminal justice system responds to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Northern Ireland. In a report published today, Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) highlighted a lack of clear leadership and strategic direction around tackling CSE.