News

The draft heads of legislation to establish a directly-elected mayor of Limerick with executive powers have been published. The Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City & County) Bill 2021 will provide for the establishment of the office of mayor, mayora

Credit unions will have until the end of June to hold their 2020 AGMs virtually following an extension of Covid-19 rules. The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, signed into law last December, extended the timeline for credit unions to hold their 2020 AGMs to end of April. It also allowed f

Cleaver Fulton Rankin has advised Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council on the long-planned partial demolition and redevelopment of Dundonald International Ice Bowl. The firm's construction and procurement team is advising the council on all aspects of the procurement, construction and commercial c

Business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has partnered with the government to launch a €1.2 million Engage & Educate Fund aimed at backing innovative projects that empower young people and adults through education. The fund, launched by MHC and Rethink Ireland and now in its second ph

International law firm DAC Beachcroft (DACB) has rolled out a series of animations explaining the insurance claims litigation process to clients in Northern Ireland. The short animations, each lasting 60-90 seconds, discuss the key stages that a litigated insurance claim can pass through from start

In-person prison visits are set to re-commence in Northern Ireland from Tuesday 4 May, though virtual visits remain the "preferred option". There will still be restrictions, including a limit of one visitor at a time and a requirement to maintain social distancing.

Hundreds of people in Northern Ireland renounced their British citizenship from 2012 to 2020 to take advantage of more favourable family migration rules for those with only Irish citizenship, data suggests. Figures published by investigative news and analysis website The Detail show a dramatic incre

A commencement order has been signed to bring legislation providing a legal definition of bullying and requiring schools to record incidents of bullying into effect in September. The Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (NI) 2016, which was passed with the support of all political parties, will commen

Wine tasters have pleaded with the French government to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as a priority. The Union of France Oenologists has written to the French prime minister to ask for wine tasters to move up the vaccination queue, The Telegraph reports.

Advocate-General Gerard Hogan has been nominated for appointment as a Supreme Court judge. The former High Court and Court of Appeal judge has served on the European Court of Justice (ECJ) since 2018.

Ministers have agreed in principle to appoint five additional judges to the High Court in order to help clear the Covid-19 backlog of cases. The move will require legislation as the number of High Court judges is set out in law. It is not yet clear whether the additional judges will be temporary or

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland has been appointed to the advisory body which will help to select the next Chief Justice of Ireland. Sir Declan Morgan will be the judicial member on the three-person non-statutory advisory committee established by ministers to help find a successor to Chie

Belfast solicitor Brian Speers has been appointed as chair of the new Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) ethics commission. Following on from the adoption of a comprehensive code of ethics and conduct, the ethics commission is a completely independent body tasked with maintaining the highest standa

Ireland's coronial system is "not fit for purpose" and root-and-branch reform is decades overdue, according to a damning new report. Professor Phil Scraton and Dr Gillian McNaull, both of Queen's University Belfast, have made more than 50 recommendations for reform following research based on interv

A Circuit Court judge has said he will start handing down indicative sentences which will be formally given at a later date due to ongoing industrial action by prison officers. A number of sentences due to be dealt with at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday morning had to be adjourned after pri