News

The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has held that a District Judge in the Magistrates’ Courts was not correct in refusing to hear an application made by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) asserting public interest immunity of a document sought for disclosure. Delivering the judgment of t

The Law Society of Ireland has announced its support for proposed constitutional amendments to remove the minimum living apart period for spouses seeking a divorce from the Constitution. In a major new report written by Dr Geoffrey Shannon, a member of the Law Society's family and child law committe

Plans to criminalise revenge pornography and upskirting have received Government backing. The Cabinet has approved the drafting of amendments to the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017, which was introduced by Labour TD Brendan Howlin following a 2016 report by the Law

Legislation to implement the recommendations of High Court judge Mr Justice Charles Meenan on alternatives to court for claims arising from the CervicalCheck scandal has taken a major step forward. The Department of Health has published the General Scheme of the CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019, whi

Three Northern Ireland solicitors will compete against their colleagues from south of the border in exhaustive physical challenges to raise funds for solicitors and their families during difficult times. The solicitors are part of the Law Society of Northern Ireland team in the inaugural Iron Law Tr

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates writes on a case concerning the dismissal of an employee involved in criminal activity. In case ADJ13353, the Adjudication Officer quoted the case of Crowe v An Post [2016] ELR 93 and the book Redmond on Dismissal Law, edited

The Department of Justice and Probation Board NI (PBNI) will complete an assessment of a domestic violence pilot at Londonderry Magistrates' Court by September under the updated domestic and sexual violence and abuse strategy. Since last March, judges in Derry have been allowed to refer those convic

Social enterprises which are tackling re-offending rates by providing employment opportunities for people with previous convictions are to receive €300,000 in public funding. The funding, provided by the Department of Justice's Social Impact Programme under its "KickStart" Seed Fund, consists o

Bill Holohan, senior partner at Holohan Lane, is set to commence a PhD doctorate programme organised by the Law Society of Ireland and University of Northumbria this summer. He joked that he is a "glutton for punishment", having just completed the two-year Master's in Advanced Legal Practice offered

An International Criminal Court (ICC) judge who faced criticism for accepting an appointment as Japanese ambassador to Estonia has given up the new role. Judge Kuniko Ozaki, one of three judges currently presiding over the trial of alleged war criminal Bosco Ntaganda, was given permission early this

A man who was able to get acid through court security, despite the introduction of a 'sip test' in 2017, doused himself in the liquid after being found guilty of defrauding the family of a disgraced footballer. Marc Marshall, 54, admitted the crime at Inner London Crown Court on Monday and was sente

A man is accused of flushing his grandparents' ashes down the toilet after his mother kicked him out the house. Thomas Wells, 33, was charged with abuse of corpses and criminal mischief.

A former teacher awaiting prosecution for historic sexual offences against one of his pupils has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court in which he argued that his prosecution under section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 was unconstitutional. By a narrow majority, Mr Justice Donal O’D

William Fry has announced the appointment of Carol Eager, Rachel Fox, Declan Lavelle and Conor Treacy as partners across the firm's corporate/M&A, tax and real estate departments. The appointments follow a period of growth for the firm, which now employs almost 500 legal and tax professionals at

Roger McMillan and Neasa Quigley have today taken over the responsibilities of managing partner at Carson McDowell, succeeding Michael Johnston after eight years in the role. Mr McMillan has formally become the new managing partner, with a primary focus on the internal running of the firm and core o