News

Couples are set to be married in online weddings following a shake-up of marriage rules in New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Twitter that he is issuing an executive order allowing for marriage licenses to be obtained remotely and for clerks to perform ceremonies via video conference.

The UK has dropped to 35 out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in part due to a "worrying legal environment" for journalists in Northern Ireland. The international NGO said the UK's efforts to promote media freedom globally were unde

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has launched a consultation on remote hearings during the coronavirus pandemic. All adjudication hearings, face-to-face conciliations and meditations, and on-site inspections have been postponed until after Tuesday 5 May 2020.

Recruitment for lay members of the Judicial Council has begun, in another milestone for the new judicial body. The Judicial Council met for the first time in February following its establishment through legislation late last year.

Lawyers involved in the controversial 2018 Belfast rape trial have launched defamation proceedings against former Ireland captain Rory Best. The lawyers acted for rugby player Paddy Jackson in the high-profile nine-week trial in which he and three others were found not guilty of raping a 19-yea

The Oireachtas has received legal advice indicating that it cannot convene meetings via video-link, according to reports. The advice centres on the wording of Article 15.1.3, which provides that the "Houses of the Oireachtas shall sit in or near the City of Dublin or in such other place as they may

Litigation is set to be brought against the decision not to carry out mass testing for coronavirus in Northern Ireland care homes. Belfast firm KRW LAW LLP is acting on behalf of Keith Gray, whose mother is a resident in a care home in Castlewellan, Co Down.

Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland programme director at Amnesty International, argues against a return to "business as usual" after the coronavirus pandemic is over. Amid the rising death toll, the dangers faced by our front line workers and the wider dislocation for a society dealing with COVID-19

Healthcare workers should be granted "immunity" from civil liability for medical negligence during the coronavirus pandemic, the Medical Defence Union (MDU) has said. The largest medical defence organisation in the UK, which provides legal support to around 200,000 healthcare workers, said existing

Police are preparing enforcement action for alleged licensing law breaches against a pub which has been delivering pints of Guinness during the lockdown. Belfast pub Hatfield House has been offering a "Guinness-on-wheels" service out of adapted vans, with plastic cups of the stout left on customers'

Nearly 4,000 couples applied for a divorce in 2018, according to new figures from the Courts Service of Ireland. There were 3,864 applications to the Circuit Court for divorce and 1,238 applications for a judicial separation, the Irish Examiner reports.

A footballer who broke his contract by driving the wrong car has been ordered to sign autographs for Audi employees as punishment. Kingsley Coman, who plays for Bayern Munich and the French national team, narrowly avoided a €50,000 fine after arriving at a training session for Bayern in a McLar

The first-ever remote hearings in the Irish courts began in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal this morning as part of a pilot of the new technology. The pilot was announced earlier this month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the administration of justice.

A six-and-a-half year prison sentence for a loyalist killer who became a "supergrass" after his arrest has been found unduly lenient by the Court of Appeal. However, UVF man Gary Haggarty will not return to prison as he was released and placed in a witness protection programme in May 2018, according

Corporate law firm BHSM has announced the appointment of Trea McGuinness as a senior associate in the firm's private client team. Ms McGuinness specialises in the areas of wills and estate planning, trusts and the administration of estates. She advises domestic and international clients, both privat