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Northern Ireland's defamation laws could be brought in line with England and Wales before the end of the current Assembly mandate, former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Mike Nesbitt has said. Mr Nesbitt yesterday introduced a private member's bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly which would rep

Children born in Ireland to parents who are not Irish citizens will be able to gain Irish citizenship sooner under legislative plans announced today. James Browne, minister of state with responsibility for immigration, confirmed that changes to the naturalisation process would be included in the Cou

A central database of alcohol licences in Northern Ireland could be introduced following the most comprehensive changes to liquor licensing laws since 1996. Stormont's communities committee has published its report on the Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill, which returns to the cha

New codes of practice to help disrupt the activities of organised crime groups in Northern Ireland will come into force at the end of June, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The three revised codes and one new code issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) will bring Northern Ireland in

New EU rules requiring online platforms to remove "terrorist content" within an hour of receiving a removal order from state authorities have come into force. The Terrorist Content Online Regulation, which applies as of 7 June 2022, aims to "counter the spread of extremist ideologies online" by intr

A pair of long-time feuding neighbours have returned to court over an unwanted Facebook friend request. Mary O'Neill complained that she had received a friend request from her neighbour Peter Malcouronne, even though she is subject to a restraining order banning her from contact with him.

Belfast solicitor Trevor Ringland MBE has been appointed by the UK government as the first special envoy to the United States on Northern Ireland. Mr Ringland, a partner at Macaulay & Ritchie Solicitors, will be responsible for promoting Northern Ireland interests across the US, including in the

Professor Grainne McKeever, professor of law and social justice at the University of Ulster, has been appointed to chair an independent review of the discretionary support scheme. Professor McKeever will be joined on the panel by Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick, also of University of Ulster; Gerry McConville o

Arthur Cox has been named Ireland's top law firm at the Benchmark Litigation Europe Awards 2021. The firm claimed the Ireland Firm of the Year award, while Eve Mulconry, partner and head of the litigation, dispute resolution and investigations group, was named Ireland Litigator of the Year.

Statutory gender quotas on corporate boards are effective and should be introduced in Ireland, the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) has said. The national women's membership organisation will launch a report later this month titled Increasing Gender Balance on Boards: The case for legislat

Over 600 people will receive damages from South Yorkshire Police and West Midlands Police as part of a settlement over the cover-up following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 football fans were unlawfully killed. The settlement, bringing to a close large-scale group litigation which began

Slovenia has become the 13th country in Europe to pass legislation defining rape as sex without consent. The new amendment to the Slovenian criminal code, debated for nearly three years, removes the requirement for evidence of use of force or the threat of use of force and violence to classify an ac

Lady Hale has advocated the use of caravan courts to restore local justice and spare participants long journeys. The former Supreme Court justice suggested mobile courts could compensate for the hundreds of court buildings closed by the UK government.

A law firm is to become the first to offer paid leave to staff who have been affected by the loss of a pregnancy. Kingsley Napley employees will be allowed 10 days' paid leave in the event of miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth or neonatal loss.

Divorce lawyers have reported a sharp fall in inquiries mentioning adultery during the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside a sharp rise in inquiries mentioning "bad behaviour". London firm Vardags said inquiries mentioning adultery declined by 63 per cent during England's latest lockdown, but those citing