News

Physical prison visits will resume on a phased basis next month, nearly four months after their suspension during the COVID-19 crisis, the Irish Prison Service has announced. A new system of video visits was introduced in lieu of physical prison visits following their suspension on 27 March 2020.

A "high degree of convergence" in data protection law between the UK and the EU is important for their future relationship, a new report published by the European Commission has said. The two-year review of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has found that it has met most of its objective

Dublin firm J R Sweeney LLP has joined the multinational law firm network LEInternational. The network, established 25 years ago as Law Europe, is made up of independent law firms across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Violent right-wing extremism is "growing" in Ireland, a major Europol report on terrorism in the EU has noted for the first time. The European agency's latest EU Terrorism Situation and Trend (TE-SAT) report said Ireland was among EU member states reporting violent right-wing activities in 2019.

Predictive policing is no longer just science fiction, as Benjamin Bestgen explains. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report is a short story probably better known through its movie adaptation: three mutants with the ability to foresee crimes before they happ

Graham Ogilvy enjoys a new presentation of the famous denouement of demagogue Joe McCarthy at the hands of Boston lawyer Joseph N Welch. It is an epic moment in American legal history that played out live on US television – and now new light is shed on the withering exchanges between veteran B

The findings of an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment by a senior Australian judge have prompted urgent reviews into how the country's courts deal with sexual misconduct. Lawyers for Dyson Heydon, a former judge of the High Court of Australia, have said their client denies "any allegation

A bitter row between two neighbours over the paternity of five goats has ended up in court. Florida woman Kris Hedstrom demanded DNA from the father of five goats she bought from her neighbour Heather Dayner for $900 (around €800) in December.

Business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has announced the promotion of Jevan Neilan to partner in the firm’s privacy and data security team. Mr Neilan trained with the firm in 2010 after graduating from UCD and Trinity College Dublin and was a senior associate before his promotion.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has written to solicitors to urge them to apply for two vacant positions on the High Court. Rowan White, president of the Law Society, said the appointment of Mr Justice Ian Huddleston in January 2019 "clearly demonstrates" that court advocacy "is not an essential

It is a "myth" that claimants in Northern Ireland are being disadvantaged by the current personal injury discount rate, the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) has said. The Department of Justice recently launched a consultation on how the discount rate or "real rate of return", used by the courts to

A judicial review brought in response to a decision to reduce the number of inspections in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic has been withdrawn following a U-turn by the Department of Health. Belfast firm KRW LAW LLP was instructed by Keith Gray, son of care home resident Briege Gray, to chall

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has donated £10,000 to the Access to Justice Foundation's Community Justice Fund. The fund was set up to make grants of up to £100,000 available to specialist social welfare law advice agencies dealing with the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Eoin Brereton, partner at Philip Lee, considers new guidance on directors' duties during COVID-19. On 4 June 2020 the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) issued welcome guidance for directors of companies that ultimately become insolvent because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This guid

Katie McAuliffe, senior associate at Mason Hayes & Curran, explores the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare litigation. COVID-19 has placed the world in virtual lockdown. In an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus, the Irish government introduced travel restrictions limiting travel to essenti