News

Jonathan Kelly has been named as the new managing partner of Philip Lee, taking over the leadership of the law firm from its founder of the same name. Philip Lee, who founded the firm in 1993 and oversaw its growth into a full-service commercial law firm with offices in Dublin, London, Brussels and

Senior civil servant Oonagh McPhillips has taken on the role of secretary general of the Department of Justice and Equality. Ms McPhillips will succeed outgoing secretary general Aidan O'Driscoll, who is retiring after a 43-year career, for a seven-year term.

Health Minister Robin Swann has announced that he is calling a statutory public inquiry into the abuse reported at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. The inquiry follows two reports into the abuse at the hospital, and comes alongside an ongoing major police investigation.

Conversion therapy for LGBT people is set to be banned in Northern Ireland under plans agreed between ministers yesterday. Communities Minister Carál Ni Chuilín yesterday agreed to take the policy lead on the issue at a meeting with colleagues Health Minister Robin Swann and Justice Mi

The long-running inquiry into the NAMA scandal has been extended for a further three months until the end of 2020. The NAMA Commission of Investigation, led by John D. Cooke SC, was established by the Irish government in June 2017 and was originally due to deliver its final report by the end of June

Human rights campaigners have warned the UK government not to use the Northern Ireland peace process as a "bargaining chip" in the latest round of Brexit negotiations. The intervention comes after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told MPs yesterday that provisions in the Internal Market Bill

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has published its latest edition of Folio, the conveyancing and land law journal. The latest edition, which can be found here, includes six articles written by legal professions that cover a range of conveyancing and land law issues.

Northern Ireland lawyers have been encouraged to respond to a Law Commission of England and Wales consultation on consumer law and insolvency. The consultation on consumer sales contracts concerns a draft bill which would reform the rules governing the transfer of ownership of goods to consumers in

A report into the Dóchas Centre has revealed that its inmates are faced with problems including severe overcrowding, xenophobic and threatening language, as well as difficulties arranging visits. The Irish Examiner said the report, which was obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of

Benjamin Bestgen takes an honest look at marriage in his latest jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. During my legal studies, a professor opined that one of the most legally significant things the majority of people will ever do in their lives is to marry and divorce (the other th

A mob boss is facing assault charges after allegedly biting off and swallowing a prison guard's finger. Giuseppe Fanara, 60, has been serving a life sentence in Sicily for nearly two decades after murdering a police officer.

The High Court has made an order striking off a solicitor from the Roll of Solicitors for dishonesty. Background

Court business has been temporarily relocated after an individual who was in Craigavon Courthouse yesterday tested positive for COVID-19. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) and the Office of the Lord Chief Justice said all business in Courthouse Three had been relocated to Dun

Defendants who face unreasonable delays to their criminal trials will be able to apply for compensation under planned legislation, according to reports. The European Convention on Human Rights (Amendment) Bill is currently being drafted by the Department of Justice in response to a European Court of

Ireland has become the only signatory to the Lanzarote Convention on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse which has not completed its ratification. Armenia yesterday became the 47th state to complete the ratification of the Council of Europe's Convention on Protection of Children against Sexua