Case Reports

The High Court has held that a previous jurisdiction for the detention of wards of court did not survive the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. As such, it was held that the proper legal basis for a detention order relied on the inherent jurisdiction of the court. Deli

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which claimed that a sentence of four years’ imprisonment for hijacking a car was manifestly excessive. The court found that the trial court was correct to impose this sentence, given the seriousness of the circumstances of the c

The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence for a man convicted of raping his two younger sisters as a teenager. The offending occurred while the man was aged between 14 and 19. He had initially been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended. Delivering judgmen

The Court of Appeal has granted a consent order for the withdrawal of a case with no order as to costs despite the fact that a full hearing of the appeal had occurred. Judgment was reserved following the appeal hearing but the parties resolved all issues prior to the delivery of the judgment. Accord

The Circuit Court has held that Dunnes Stores must pay €4,000 to a woman from an ethnic minority background after she was prevented from purchasing food by a security guard on the grounds that she had previously been barred from the shop for begging. An award of €2,000 was also ordered for

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected a decision of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to refuse compensation for miscarriage of justice where the applicant, Gerry Adams, was improperly interned in 1973. The applicant challenged the 2021 DoJ decision which found that Adams was not eligible f

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has entirely dismissed Tesco’s challenge to an Antrim Council planning decision relating to a new store for its competitor Asda. The court found that the decision reached was a valid and informed one and, although it went against Tesco’s favour, i

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal which stemmed from a child residence order application request brought by a father in a long series of litigation with the child’s mother. The court refused the appeal, finding that it had been brought for improper purposes and w

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that there was procedural unfairness in refusing to allow witnesses to remain seated during a tribunal hearing while providing seats for pupil barristers. The court found that although pandemic restrictions were the cause of the occupancy limit

The High Court has ruled that the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) erred in law by excluding a Russian man from international protection based on claims that he had committed a serious non-political crime. The man claimed that he feared being persecuted by the Russian authorities, al

The High Court has ruled that negligence proceedings against a firm of solicitors should be struck out due to inordinate and inexcusable delay in prosecuting the proceedings. The plaintiff had initiated proceedings in 2013 and had passed away in 2020. The proceedings were maintained by his son. Deli

The Supreme Court has granted leave to appeal in a dispute involving the insurance liability for injuries sustained by an employee while operating a rubbish truck. The proceedings had developed as a special case to determine liability between two insurers of the truck. Delivering a determination in

The High Court has ruled that a prison officer in the Irish Prison Service was not entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing. The officer was facing allegations of improper conduct including that he made inappropriate contact with the wife of a prisoner and made threats against a pr

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal alleging that the Department of Health breached data privacy and GDPR requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court upheld the decision of the trial court in the Williams case [2022] NIQB 12, delivered by Mr Justice Adrian Colto

The High Court has held that the Dublin County Registrar was incorrect to dismiss possession proceedings for failure to comply with “previous court orders” on the basis that the County Registrar acted in excess of jurisdiction. The plaintiff had previously been directed by the County Reg