News

British judges have upheld Bermuda's ban on same-sex marriage as constitutional in a challenge brought to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), which remains the island territory's highest court of appeal. The JCPC, based in London, is the highest court of appeal for British Overseas T

Geraldine Hanna, the chief executive of Victim Support NI, has been appointed as the inaugural victims of crime commissioner designate for Northern Ireland. The post was established on a non-statutory basis following a public consultation last year amid concerns that legislating for a statutory comm

Proposals to strengthen Northern Ireland's criminal justice response to modern slavery and human trafficking have gone out to consultation. The public consultation will consider the introduction of slavery and trafficking risk orders, the commencement and nature of the duty to notify provisions, and

The Criminal Bar Association has voted to take industrial action in protest at the level of fees paid to them. About 1,800 criminal barristers voted to work to rule from April 11. This is only the second time the CBA has taken such action.

The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into whether an agreement between Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for online display advertising services may have breached EU competition rules. The investigation relates to the so-called "Jedi Blue" agreement struck in September 2018

The Law Society of Ireland has launched a new sanctions resource hub to help solicitors ensure compliance with EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus. The online hub is aimed at sole practitioners and small to medium law firms in particular, helping them to respond to sanctions which are rapidly increas

Proposed cuts to Northern Ireland's justice budget have the "potential to cause generational harm", the Law Society and the Bar have warned. In a joint submission to the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice, the representative bodies said many solicitor firms "would simply not survive

A former prison has found new life as a legal cannabis farm. What used to be Claremont Custody Centre in California is now a bustling business, with cannabis growing in the garden while staff make edibles in the kitchen and assemble prerolled joints in the mess hall.

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has announced the appointment of Tara Kelly as head of the firm's competition and antitrust team. Ms Kelly, whose personal practice focuses on merger control and regulatory investigations, will lead a specialised team advising clients on their obligations under Irish and

US law firm Armstrong Teasdale has announced its expansion into Ireland in order to better serve its European clients after Brexit. The new Dublin office, to be headed by partner Daniel O'Connell, will be the firm's 15th office and its second outside the US after London. It will initially focus on c

Reforms to the committal process in Northern Ireland criminal cases will be introduced from September 2022, justice minister Naomi Long has said. Mrs Long set out a timetable for the implementation of the Criminal Justice (Committal Reform) Act 2022 after it received royal assent earlier this week.

Up to 20 new High Court judges are still required to deal with Covid backlogs, the president of the High Court has said. During a preliminary hearing yesterday, Mrs Justice Mary Irvine said the court "is short about 18 or 20 judges at the moment and we have arrears across all divisions", the Irish I

A right to independent living should be incorporated into Irish law in order to ensure that disabled people can live "ordinary lives in ordinary places", an Oireachtas committee has recommended. A new report from the Oireachtas joint committee on disability matters issues a number of recommendations

Dublin and Dundalk firm Mulholland Law has announced the promotion of Michelle Lynch to practice manager. Mrs Lynch joined the firm in 2020 as a legal assistant to the principal and has considerably assisted with the growth and expansion of the firm. She will now oversee the daily administration of

An English law firm has been fined £98,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after a data breach caused by ransomware. Hackers gained access to the IT systems of criminal defence firm Tuckers Solicitors LLP and compromised more than 24,700 court bundles containing sensitive data s