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Legislation to create a new domestic abuse offence for Northern Ireland is being debated at the second stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Addressing a small number of MLAs in the chamber earlier this afternoon, Justice Minister Naomi Long said she was pleased to bring the bill forward, "even th

A significant "spike" in complaints to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) put the body under strain in 2019, according to its annual report. The WRC's adjudication service received 8,309 complaint applications in 2019, encompassing 20,939 individual complaints, the report states.

The PSNI's budget has fallen by more than £200 million in real terms over the past decade, according to a new report. Publishing his findings, Northern Ireland's Comptroller and Auditor General, Kieran Donnelly, said the PSNI had focused on "short-term cost reductions" which means the force "h

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has written to the Garda Commissioner over the "wholly inappropriate" involvement of armed gardaí in the response to coronavirus. The group wrote to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris yesterday afternoon following reports from across the State about ar

A round-up of deals involving Irish law firms. Submit your deals to newsdesk@irishlegal.com. Arthur Cox Listing Services has acted as listing agent for Firmenich Productions Participations SAS on its inaugural €1.5 billion Eurobond.

Félim Ó Maolmhána examines, in response to an earlier Irish Legal News article, how many lawyers have served in the Oireachtas. I was struck by Mr Benjamin Bestgen’s piece, “The Ship of Fools” (8 April 2020) featured in this publication. Mr Bestgen makes some v

An emergency hardship fund has been established for barristers to support junior lawyers in financial distress as many do not qualify for the UK government's coronavirus support scheme. The Barristers’ Benevolent Association has created the fund and the four Inns of Court are making packages t

Poland's most senior judge and one of the strongest critics of the country's controversial justice reforms has firmly criticised the government as her term in office comes to a close. Malgorzata Gersdorf, who became the first woman to hold the position of first president of the Supreme Court on her

The death penalty can be handed down for the theft or destruction of manhole covers, Chinese judges have been told. A statement from the country's top legal and judicial bodies reminds judges that suspects can be charged with "endangering transportation" or "endangering public safety", which have a

The next government should requisition land for housing and overhaul the examinership process to help businesses survive the coronavirus crisis, the Master of the High Court, Edmund Honohan SC, has said. In an interview with the Irish Independent, the quasi-judicial office-holder set out a series of

A new facility allowing solicitors to top up their suspense accounts through card payments will be piloted from today, the Land Registry has announced. In a note to practitioners, Christine Farrell, the registrar of titles, said testing on the enhanced LandWeb Direct system has been completed.

A furniture business has secured a High Court injunction preventing its eviction after it was unable to pay its rent as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Design Features Ltd, represented by Dublin law firm Sherwin O'Riordan, argued that the threatened eviction was not permissible under the lease

Ireland's human rights watchdog has called for "close parliamentary oversight" of emergency legislation introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission issued a statement this morning following a meeting on Friday to consider the rights implications

Judges have been urged to abandon the phrase "beyond all reasonable doubt" as it apparently confuses juries. In new guidance for the judiciary, they have been advised to tell jurors they should be “satisfied so that they are sure” a defendant is guilty before convicting.

Three alleged IRA members who were convicted of training Colombian rebels in bomb-making have been granted an amnesty. The "Colombia Three" fled to Ireland shortly before they were sentenced to 17 years' imprisonment for training FARC guerillas.